Boynton Beach police secure the accident scene at Riverwalk Plaza the day of the construction-related deaths. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Tao Woolfe
Boynton Beach and federal work-site safety inspectors are continuing their investigation into the March 22 deaths of two workers at a construction site near downtown.
Initial reports just after the mid-morning incident were that a crane had collapsed and fallen on the two men. Later that day, however, Boynton Beach police and fire officials reported that part of the concrete structure had collapsed, crushing the two workers.
The men were later identified by police as Jeremias Mendez, 32, and Eduardo Cruz-Moran, 25, both of West Palm Beach.
The men had been part of the crew working on construction of the 10-story luxury apartment and retail complex at Riverwalk Plaza along the Intracoastal Waterway on Woolbright Road.
Construction was expected to be completed next year. All construction work on the job site stopped the day of the accident, but workers were back on the job by March 26. A spokesman with the developer, Isram Realty, later said he had no comment on whether construction would continue unabated. A duty officer at the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Plantation confirmed on March 22 that OSHA had been called in and is investigating.
Although he would not speak about the particulars of the Boynton Beach incident, he did say that such investigations can take up to six months and involve site visits, reviewing the companies’ safety and health documentation, and conducting interviews with employees and company officials.
Based on that information, OSHA will determine whether to deem the site hazardous or not.
The Boynton Beach Police Department, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office, is conducting the death investigations, according to a Police Department news release.
Riverwalk Plaza sits at the southwestern base of the Woolbright Road bridge in Boynton Beach.
Hallandale Beach-based Isram Realty paid $9.5 million in 2011 for the 10-acre plaza, after the Winn-Dixie grocery store left the plaza in January 2015, then sought land-use and zoning changes for a 10-story apartment complex.
Before it was approved by the City Commission in 2017, residents objected to the height and mass of the proposed structure.
The building — with 326 units and 41,976 square feet of retail space — was approved in January 2017. Construction at the adjoining mall began in 2018. Tower construction began in 2021.
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