Sept. 11--A Plymouth man is dead after part of a building collapsed at the construction site of the future St. Paul Saints stadium Tuesday morning in Lowertown.
Johnny Valek, 61, died shortly after 8 a.m. when a section of concrete at the former Diamond Products/Gillette building in downtown St. Paul collapsed on the cab of the backhoe he was operating.
"It appears it was very sudden," St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said.
No one else was hurt, Zaccard said.
Crews used another backhoe to remove the fallen concrete and recover Valek's body about 12:45 p.m.
Zaccard said a concrete slab about 10 feet by 30 feet fell from the two-story building onto the cab of Valek's backhoe.
Ryan Cos., which is leading the ballpark project, said in a statement that Valek worked for subcontractor Rachel Contracting.
As crews prepared to recover Valek's body, his brother, Randy Valek of Spring Park, Minn., watched from across the street.
He said he and his brother had talked about his work Sunday when his family visited to prepare invitations for the wedding next year of Johnny Valek's daughter.
"He said it was the toughest job he's been on," said Randy Valek, who also works in construction and demolition.
At the family gathering, Johnny Valek played a 15-second clip on his smartphone showing some of the work he did.
"He said it was a tough job because the walls were real thick. It was a lot of concrete," Randy Valek said.
But, he said, his brother had "done it for 25, 30 years. He could probably do it in his sleep. He was just in the wrong spot. ... He said it was a very dangerous job."
Valek's family later issued a statement that said:
"We work to remember John for the person that touched all of us.
"John was a truly loving father who was preparing for retirement after more than 25 years of deconstruction experience, specializing in building demolition. He was considered an expert in his field and was highly respected by his peers. While he looked forward to retirement, those feelings paled in comparison to the excitement he held for his daughter's upcoming wedding. "It is that devotion that we will miss most."
The future ballpark site housed testing laboratories and manufacturing for the Gillette Co.
Demolition of the building began in July and is expected to take about four months. The 7,000-seat ballpark, which will also stage amateur events, is being built at the cost of $63 million.
"It is unfortunately a fact of life in the construction industry that there are risks associated with that," St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said at a news conference.
"Men and women risk their lives on a daily basis to build our community. This is a tragic example of the risks that those individuals undertake."
The St. Paul Saints said in a statement that there was "profound sadness" in the organization after learning about the accident.
Gov. Mark Dayton also issued a statement: "All Minnesotans share my grief for John Valek's loss, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and co-workers."
"It's a tough industry. It's a dangerous industry," said Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, a construction union organization. "When someone, as we say, goes in the hole, it's not a good day."
Of the 85 occupational fatalities investigated by Minnesota OSHA in 2008-12, 28 percent were in the construction industry and 27 percent involved workers being crushed to death, which was exceeded only by workers killed in falls, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
Calls to Rachel Contracting were referred to Ryan Cos. for comment.
The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the state Department of Labor and Industry, has begun an investigation of the accident.
Ryan Cos. said it was cooperating fully with investigators.
"Our company takes safety very, very seriously. We have one of the strongest safety records in the industry," said Collin Barr, president of the NorthCentral Region of Ryan Cos.
"All of us at Ryan are deeply saddened, and our sympathies go out to family members and colleagues," the company statement said.
"We're also working with the family and Johnny's co-workers to offer grief counseling and support."
In the past 10 years, there have been 36 inspections of Ryan Cos. and no violations found. The most recent inspection was June 17 at 7000 Target Parkway in Brooklyn Park, according to OSHA databases.
On April 3, the state Department of Labor and Industry recognized a Ryan Cos. worksite, the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in St. Paul, under the Minnesota Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program Construction as a worksite with safety and health programs that go beyond basic compliance with OSHA standards.
St. Michael, Minn.-based Rachel Contracting, under direction of Ryan Cos., is in charge of the demolition phase of construction at the Gillette site.
Rachel Contracting recently demolished Brookdale Mall in Brooklyn Center and part of the former 3M campus in St. Paul.
The company was inspected once by Minnesota OSHA in the past five years, a routine planned inspection at a 2010 demolition project, and no citations were issued, agency spokesman James Honerman said.
An employer could face a fine of $25,000 for a serious violation that results in a worker's death, according to Minnesota OSHA. The fine would be $50,000 if the violation were willful or repeated.
"Demolition work is very dangerous by its nature," Zaccard said.
Randy Valek said his brother worked for him for 10 years before joining Rachel Contracting. In the mid-1990s, the two men removed a river dam in New Ulm for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
The project ended in a high-profile legal dispute, with the contractors accusing the DNR of heavily underestimating the size and scope of the work. "My mom put her house on the line," Randy Valek said. They eventually received the compensation they sought.
Frederick Melo and MaryJo Webster contributed to this report. Richard Chin can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5560 Joseph Lindberg can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5513. Follow him at twitter.com/JosephLindberg.
Copyright 2013 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
