Guilty pleas in connection with Poughkeepsie construction site death of worker

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WHITE PLAINS – New Jersey construction company Onekey, LLC and its principal, Finbar O’Neill, pled guilty in US District Court to violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations resulting in the death of a construction worker in Poughkeepsie on August 3, 2017.

According to statements and filings in federal court, O’Neill and his company implemented a soil compaction plan at a construction site at 1 Dutchess Avenue in Poughkeepsie.

The plan involved piling large amounts of dirt, called “surcharges,” on top of the sites of three future buildings. They did not follow the plan. Instead, they built a wall to hold back one of the surcharges so  workers could get started on the buildings next to it.

They did not consultant with any qualified person to see if the wall could withstand the weight to be placed on it by the surcharge.

While people were working next to the wall, Onekey kept using construction machinery too add dirt to the surcharge pressing up against the wall.

The people working near the wall were not warned about the dangers it created. Onekey and O’Neill heard from the workers the wall was not safe, but they did not fix it.

On August 3, 2017, workers complained that construction machines were driving on top of the surcharge, adding dirt to it. Later that day, the wall collapsed and as it fell, the victim ran away from it, but could not get away in time and was killed.

Onekey LLC faces a maximum of a $500,000 fine. O’Neill faces a maximum of six months in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.




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