EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An accident in Eagle Mountain that sent two construction workers to the hospital on Tuesday might have been avoided with correct framing procedures, witnesses said.
Agustin Rodriguez Ramirez and Jose Agustin Rodriguez — a father and son — were framing a new house at 2173 E. 7460 North in Eagle Mountain when both were injured in an accident that prompted the Utah County Sheriff's Office to call Life Flight to the scene as a precaution.
At about 1:45 p.m., Rodriguez had been on top of the roof, stabilizing some trusses that were about to be installed when the trusses toppled "like dominoes," said homeowner Lance Capener. The trusses knocked Rodriguez to the ground, cutting his hand.
Ramirez, who was on the ground beneath Rodriguez, was hit in the head by one of the trusses.
"I ran into the house to see if everyone was OK and one guy said '911, 911, I don't speak English,"' said Jens Helquist, a crane operator working on the project. "He handed me the phone, and I was talking to 911."
Both father and son, who were conscious and talking when emergency personnel arrived, were transported by ambulance to American Fork Hospital, said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Randall.
The injuries are not expected to be life-threatening.
Construction on the house has been temporarily halted by the city until the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can inspect the site.
According to a building inspector for Eagle Mountain who temporarily closed the site, the construction workers had not installed the trusses properly and the frame work would most likely have to be removed and reinstalled.
Helquist said the workers were also using plywood scraps instead of two-by-four blocks of wood to stabilize the trusses. The method surprised him.
"I've never seen plywood strips used on beams as big as these," Helquist said. "These guys were just using one-half inch plywood strips. ... I think if they had two-by-fours up there, it wouldn't have happened."
Capener, a Saratoga Springs resident, said he and his wife bought the parcel of land to build a home in which to retire. The couple broke ground in September, Capener said, and were expecting to finish the project by July.
"All of the inspections are done that need to be done to this point," Capener said. "Once the framing is finished, there's another inspection that you have to go through."
Capener, who had taken a day off work to visit the project site, was in the basement of the house when he heard a crash overhead. When he ran upstairs, he saw that Ramirez and Rodriguez had been injured. Capener says he does not personally know the father and son, but he was relieved the injuries were not worse.
"The upside is, (Ramirez) isn't dead," Capener said. "The downside is to see your life's savings lying in a pile."
E-mail: achoate@desnews.com