Construction Worker Injured On Hwy 4 Undergoes Amputation; Investigation Proceeding

A worker who apparently slipped and fell into an auger at a construction site on state Highway 4 in Antioch last week has had his leg amputated and remains in a hospital, a California Division of Occupational Health and Safety spokeswoman said today.

Emergency responders were called around 6:30 p.m. Thursday to reports of a construction worker who had fallen and become trapped in a running auger, a tool for boring holes in the ground, on Highway 4 at the Hillcrest Avenue exit, according to Cal/OSHA and fire officials.

Crews were able to extricate the man from the auger and he was airlifted to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

He has since had a leg amputated and remained hospitalized as of this morning, according to Cal/OSHA spokeswoman Julia Bernstein.

Bernstein said the injured man was working to control street traffic in the area around the construction site when he apparently slipped and fell into the running auger.

Transit agency officials said the man was working on a Highway 4 widening project administered by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and was employed by general contractor C.C. Myers Inc. Work on the project was halted on Friday.

It could not immediately be confirmed whether construction has since resumed.

A spokeswoman for C.C. Myers could not be reached for comment. The CCTA said in an email that it “extends its deepest sympathies to the injured worker and his family.”

Cal/OSHA continues to investigate the incident.

--Bay City News

--Image via Shutterstock