A construction worker was killed by a falling object Tuesday at a job site at Phalen Regional Park in St. Paul, officials say.
St. Paul Fire Department paramedics responded about 3 p.m. to a report of a traumatic injury, Deputy Chief Roy Mokosso said. Paramedics treated and transported the victim to a hospital, where he later died.
The worker who died is identified as Cory Buerke, a marble mason and an employee of Acoustics Associates, a Golden Valley-based firm, according to the incident report made by St. Paul police. He was 38 years old and lived in Cottage Grove.
The incident occurred at Phalen Regional Park’s new China Garden, said Clare Cloyd, spokeswoman for the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department. The department was notified of the incident Tuesday evening, she said.
UPDATE: Man killed at Phalen park was working on stone arch, police report says
“We understand that the appropriate authorities have been contacted, and anticipate that a thorough investigation will be conducted,” the department said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the family, colleagues and friends of this worker.”
The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into the incident Wednesday, department spokesman James Honerman said. He noted that workplace fatalities involving “contact with an object or equipment” are the most common in Minnesota, which averages about eight such deaths each year.
This is St. Paul’s fourth workplace fatality of 2019, according to MNOSHA data.