Iron worker at Churchill
seriously hurt after fall
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — An iron worker suffered a severe head injury after falling off a platform while performing work at Churchill Junior High School, Norton Road.
William Konya, 41, of West Chester, Pa., fell off a 14-foot-high platform, struck his head on a beam and then continued falling to the ground, East Brunswick police said. He was upgraded from critical to fair condition earlier this week after being treated in the intensive care unit at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
The accident occurred last Friday at 10:30 a.m., according to police, who responded to the scene along with members of the East Brunswick Rescue Squad and hospital paramedics.
Konya, a principal with Global Construction in West Chester, fell while performing work on the new portion of the school, according to Lt. Geraldine Garrett, spokeswoman for the East Brunswick Police Department.
Garrett said Konya was with a work crew from his company when he fell.
The iron workers were using a chain pulley to lift a large metal support beam and put it in place, but the manual chain became loose. The weight of the chain caused Konya to lose his balance and hit his head on the beam.
The support beam was to be used for the framing of the soon-to-open addition at Churchill, Garrett said. Police said it was not yet known how the chain became loose.
Garrett said she does not believe that Konya was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
When police arrived, he was conscious but groggy and was treated at the scene by members of the rescue squad as well as paramedics from Robert Wood Johnson before being rushed to that hospital.
The Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration was called and will investigate the incident, Garrett said.
The incident is also being investigated by East Brunswick Patrolman Kevin Bolch.