Austin Eugene Furner’s death was unnecessary: the 27-year-old construction worker died by drowning at a North Carolina worksite over the summer and, according to findings announced last month by the U.S. Department of Labor, was preventable.
According to the federal agency, the man was operating an excavator for Rigid Constructors LLC in August at Eagle Island, located in Brunswick and New Hanover counties, when the machine tipped over and trapped him underwater.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration noted in its investigation that the victim, identified by WECT-TV, and other employees should have had lifesaving equipment like life jackets and ring buoys with at least 90 feet of line for emergencies.
In a Dec. 27 news release, OSHA said their employer, Rigid Constructors, a Louisiana-based contractor, failed to provide the required safety equipment and have a small boat at the job site because of the drowning risk.
The Labor Department cited Rigid Construction for four “serious” violations, including not “providing or requiring employees to use personal protective and lifesaving equipment while they worked near the water-filled excavation site.” OSHA has proposed $50,703 in penalties.
“RIGID Constructors’ failure to comply with federal safety and health standards resulted in a preventable tragedy,” OSHA area director Kimberley Morton in Raleigh said in a statement.
The worker who drowned was an ‘incredible husband and father’
The 27-year-old died when he and a foreman were using an amphibious excavator, which can operate in water, to reposition a pump at a water-filled cell on Eagle Island, the Department of Labor said.
Eagle Island is divided into cells — three used to dispose of dredged material from Wilmington Harbor. The three cells go through a cycle that involves dewatering and drying. Furner was dewatering one of the cells as part of an ongoing improvement project at the Eagle Island Confined Disposal Facility, an Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson told WECT in August.
The Army Corps of Engineers owns the land where Rigid Constructors was working.
The Department of Labor said Furner got stuck underwater while trying to exit the cell, and first responders could not revive him; the excavator was seen upside down in the water in footage from the incident reported by WECT.
Furner was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a wife and three sons, the Wilmington StarNews reported. “We tragically lost some of the glue that held our family together,” a GoFundMe established by Furner’s family for his funeral service said. The page shows Furner with his wife and three small children and set a modest goal of raising $5,000. The page, where he was described as “an incredible husband and father,” has since raised nearly $55,000;
Rigid Constructors has 15 days from receiving its citations to comply and pay the $50,703 in penalties or contest the findings.
