OSHA Finds Serious Violations In Fatal Beachwood Shopping Center Collapse

by Patricia A. Miller

Raymond Crosby showed up for work at the Beachwood Shopping Center on the morning of Sept. 24, expecting it to be a normal day.

Crosby, 52, died that afternoon, when a roof at the battered shopping center collapsed on him.

The federal Occupational And Safety Administration issued its inspection report on the accident today, half a year after Crosby was killed.

OSHA found a number of violations related to his death. All of them were categorized as "serious," according to the report.

The agency also fined Piscataway-based Edgewood Properties $32,900 for the violations. Demolition of the decaying shopping center - long an eyesore on Route 9 - was more than halfway complete when the accident occurred.

Here are the violations:

• There was no engineering survey done at the site to determine the condition of framing, floors and walls and the possibility of an unplanned collapse before the demolition began.

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• Wall sections of more than one story were permitted to stand alone without lateral bracing. The wall sections were not originally designed to stand alone without lateral support.

• An east facing cinder block wall was left standing after a partial building collapse and was not shored up or braced.

• Support columns were cut, which resulted in an unplanned collapse. That violation was first noted on Sept. 24, the day of the accident. The fine for this violation was $7,000.

• There were no continuing inspections during demolition operations by a "competent person" to detect hazards resulting from weakened or deteriorating floors, walls, or loosened materials.

• Employees were not trained about unsafe conditions and regulations to control or eliminate hazards or other exposure to illness or injury.

• Employees were not instructed about hazards such as unplanned collapse when working next to or around unsupported or disturbed walls.

Edgewood can either pay the fines or contest the violations, according to the OSHA report.

The shopping center and the surrounding area had been fenced in for several years after Berkeley Fire Code official Jack Wiegarter found a number of dangerous conditions at the site.

Berkeley Township officials battled with owner Priscilla Oughton for years about demolishing the site, long a Bayville eyesore. Oughton finally agreed this year and the demolition work began last summer.