Construction Worker Killed by Earth Mover in Calif.

Sept. 20--A 48-year-old Newark man was struck and killed by a large earth-mover at a Mare Island construction site Friday afternoon.

The man, whose name won't be released until after his family is notified, had been part of a surveying team, which was sharing the site with workers who were grading it for the eventual construction of three homes, Vallejo Police Lt. Herman Robinson said.

A man who said he works at the U.S. Forest Service which overlooks the construction site, said he noticed what he said he thought was a dangerous situation when he walked by during a break.

"A little while ago, about 12:45, I saw these guys out surveying and those huge machines were driving around them," said the man who declined to give his name. "It looked unsafe to me. I was afraid something would happen, and I hadn't walked about a mile further when I heard the sirens." Robinson's description of events seem to suggest the man's fears were justified.

"One man was working with a surveyor (equipment) and the other had the stick they use as a marker, and this big Cat scraper came around and as he started to make the turn, he didn't see the person with the marker, and struck and killed him," Robinson said. "He looked back and saw someone lying on the ground, so, he stopped and jumped down to check on him and called for an ambulance."

The call went out just before 1 p.m.

Cal OSHA, the state industrial safety oversight agency, and the county coroner's office were notified.

One man from KDW Construction of Vacaville, which is doing the work at the site, was reached by phone but was unwilling to discuss the tragedy Friday. No one from Lennar Mare Island, the island's main developer, immediately returned calls for comment.

Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Rachelvth.

Copyright 2013 - Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.