OSHA investigating fatal Ford factory wall collapse

OSHA has opened an investigation into the contractor in charge of a wall that collapsed at a Far South Side Ford factory, leaving one man dead and another injured Saturday morning.

A large section of a wall collapsed at 10:48 a.m. in the 2600 block of East 126th Street, according to Chicago Police. The men were working on the concrete wall when it fell and pinned a 45-year-old man under it, according to fire officials and a statement from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

John J. Jaloway, of the 600 block of Oswego Drive in Carol Stream, was injured in the collapse and taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:11 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and police.

A 48-year-old man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious-to-critical condition, fire officials said.

Contractor Litgen Concrete Cutting and Coring Company was overseeing the process of removing a section of the wall to allow for the installation of a double door, according to an OSHA spokesman. The section of wall that fell was about six feet by seven feet and six inches thick.

In a statement, Ford offered condolences to Jaloway’s family, and said it is cooperating fully with the investigation.

“We are saddened that a contractor was killed in a construction accident at the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant today and another worker was injured while trying to help after the initial accident,” Ford said in a statement.