A person was injured when a piece of construction material fell from a 17-story building onto a vehicle in Boston's Seaport District on Wednesday morning.
The incident was reported shortly before 11 a.m. at a building under construction in the 300 block of Congress Street. Photos from the scene showed a vehicle in the right lane surrounded by police tape with the roof and windshield caved in.
The Boston Inspectional Services Department said Wednesday afternoon that a stop work order had been issued at the site, which will be closed until further notice.
"While I'm relieved no one was seriously injured today, we've had too many recent construction worksite incidents," Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement. "Tomorrow we are hosting a meeting with unions and construction companies to discuss ways to partner in ensuring work sites are safe and avoid any future incidents."
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A 12-inch curtainwall embed fell from the exterior of Suffolk Construction's 400 Summer Street project, landing on a car, a spokesperson for the company said Wednesday afternoon. They said the driver wasn't seriously hurt but was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Suffolk said they voluntarily shut down the job site "out of an abundance of caution" so they can conduct a comprehensive review of the site and adherence to the company's safety standards. They said they are working with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, city officials and their trade partners to investigate the cause of the incident.
OSHA said they had been notified and were responding to the scene.
One neighbor who was in the area Wednesday was in shock at what she saw.
"It's terrifying," Kristen Lane said. "I live right across from here, and I park my car here and there outside on the street once in a while, and knowing that, it's just like [gasp]."
"It's startling. I mean, something like that, that must have happened pretty quick," she added. "It's gonna make me think more about where I'm walking in the Seaport and pay more attention instead of listening to music. It's not just the car. Someone could be walking their dog or there's a lot of kids, too, in the area during the day as well. So it is, it's a concern."
