Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

OSHA to investigate worker's death in highway accident

The death of a construction worker in Chester County will be investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Lee A. Boyer, 60, was killed on Route 422 in North Coventry late Wednesday when a car struck him as he was setting up cones, police said.

The death of a construction worker in Chester County will be investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Lee A. Boyer, 60, was killed on Route 422 in North Coventry late Wednesday when a car struck him as he was setting up cones, police said.

Boyer's death was the first such fatality of the year reported to OSHA in the Philadelphia, Chester County, and Delaware County region, Nicholas DeJesse, OSHA Philadelphia-area director, said Thursday.

The routine inspection will examine the road conditions, the construction operation, and whether traffic control devices were in use. The department "will try to build a timeline to understand what events led up to the incident," DeJesse said.

Boyer, of Liberty, Pa., worked for J.D. Eckman Inc., a construction company based in Atglen. Since 2009, the company has had 31 partial or complete inspections from OSHA. But DeJesse said that is not an unusual number for a company of the size and skills of J.D. Eckman, which does bridge and highway construction. In 13 of those inspections, the company had one or more violations for a total of 24 violations in the last five years, according to data from OSHA.

The North Coventry Township Police Department is also investigating the accident. - Justine McDaniel