Gustavo Briceno and another employee of Kenny Construction were working in the northwest side of the North Rockwall Street sewer. Flash floods hit around 8:30 p.m., and their maintenance job was interrupted by a surge of water.
Bricenos coworker was strapped into his safety harness and was pulled to recovery. Luckily, he survived without harm. Briceno, himself, unfortunately, had removed his safety harness to reach a confined space within the sewer. He was swept away by the rush of water.
To help find Briceno, a robotic camera was lowered into the sewer. Chief of Special Operations for the Chicago Fire Department, Michael Fox, says, “”The contractor had the camera going both ways to see if we could find him faster and maybe make this a rescue instead of a recovery… But it didn’t turn out.” The police departments helicopter and marine units were also in on the search.
Bricenos lifeless body was found two hours later about a block away from where he was working.
He was twenty-five years of age and a resident of Glendale Heights.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently investigating the details surrounding Bricenos accident.
Its not uncommon for hard-working people to end up being injured on the job, or worse. If youve been hurt, we want to hear your story. Give GWC Law a call today!