Man working on Beltway project is crushed to death

Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1999 | 10:15 a.m.

A Utah man, on his second day working on the northwest leg of the Las Vegas Beltway, was killed when a several-ton concrete drainage pipe fell on him as he was shifting the sand beneath it, officials said.

The incident occurred at noon Tuesday at Centennial Parkway and U.S. 95.

"This is a real tragedy fellas," a distraught worker told reporters as they arrived on the scene.

"It appears to be an unfortunate freak accident," said city of Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski, noting that fire paramedics arrived on the scene to find the worker dead about two feet from the accident.

Brandon Paul Rice, 28, of Ogden Utah, was working alone on the large box culvert storm drain when it apparently collapsed on him, Szymanski said.

Minutes later fellow workers returned to the area. One of them jumped into a backhoe and lifted the huge slab off Rice while others dragged him away. But it was too late, Szymanski said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was at the scene to begin conducting its investigation Tuesday afternoon.

"He (Rice) was an integral part of our company," said Wynn Storey, chief estimator for Upper Valley Directional Drilling of Utah. "He was the first employee hired by our company and had done a lot of jobs for us over the years."

Storey said Rice was sent to Las Vegas on Monday to begin what would have been a one- to two-month stint on various projects for the company.

Storey said the square-shaped drainage pipe sections weigh 4,100 pounds per foot and, depending on the segment's width and length, can weigh up to 24,000 pounds.

Upper Valley, which does various types of underground construction, has been in business for about five years. Rice had climbed to a supervisory position and recently was the company's project manager for its work on the Interstate 15 rebuilding project in Salt Lake City, Storey said.

"He was very well liked and had been the boss for just about every employee here at one time or another," Storey said, noting that the company employs 50 to 80 workers.

Rice was married and had one young child, Storey said.

Storey said Rice was highly skilled in the type of work he was doing.

"Typically, they (the slabs) are put on a base of sand and fit carefully," Storey said. "Sometimes sand has to be added because the angle of the pipe has to be just right for the (flood) water to flow through it correctly."

The segments, comprised of concrete and rebar, are not cemented together but rather are held in place by their massive weight, officials said.

Rice was using a shovel and apparently was on his hands and knees adjusting the sand when the slab gave way, Szymanski said.

The structure fell on Rice's back, pinning him to the ground face-first, Szymanski said.

He said there were no apparent witnesses to the accident as other workers had left the area to attend to another part of the job. They were gone from the area about 20 minutes during the time when the accident occurred, Szymanski said.

After the incident, workers in orange vests stood around the area, noticeably shaken, as fire officials cordoned off the scene.