Cristinel Osolos: Construction worker crushed by beam, inquest hears

The inquest into the death of Cristinel Osolos is taking place in front of a jury at Northampton's Sessions House

A construction worker was crushed to death when a 52-tonne beam "jolted" towards him, an inquest heard.

Cristinel Osolos, 30, had been wiping mortar from a surface while working on a bridge in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

He died at Coventry University Hospital on 31 May 2017, seven days after the incident.

Northampton Coroners' Court heard how a crane operator had hoisted the beam off Mr Osolos after hearing him scream.

Coroner Philip Barlow said Mr Osolos, from Birmingham, had been working on a new bridge over a river at the Stanton Cross development.

Cristinel Osolos had been working on a bridge to serve the Stanton Cross development in Wellingborough

He told the jury "very large" concrete beams were being put in place using a crane.

"During that process Mr Osolos was crushed. He suffered a cardiac arrest on the scene," he said.

Mr Osolos underwent extensive surgery but died in hospital, he said.

He said a Health and Safety Executive investigation was ongoing, but the cause of the beam movement was not currently known.

The jury heard the overall project was being run by Galliford Try Infrastructure, with Baldwins Crane Hire and JOS Structures employed as sub-contractors.

Lee Corbett, a crane supervisor for Baldwins, said he had been overseeing the movement of the beam on to a bridge bearing, where it would rest.

He said it had been lowered to within "a couple of inches from where it would land" before workers from Galliford and JOS had moved in to position it.

'Just an instant'

After being told they had finished, he said, he had instructed crane operator Tony Wilson to slowly lower the beam.

Mr Corbett said a supervisor from JOS had told him "he was happy with the position [of the beam] and said lose the weight off the crane and take the lifting tackle off".

But when this took place, the beam "tipped to the left", he said.

"It was just an instant; a couple of seconds," he said.

"Cris must have been standing to the left. He got crushed."

'Heard a scream'

Mr Corbett said he had "just heard shouting" and had told Mr Wilson to hoist the beam back up.

Giving evidence, Mr Wilson said after moving the beam into position he had been instructed to slowly lower it down.

But it suddenly jolted to the left, he said.

"I then heard a scream. I immediately pulled up the hoist lever," he said.

Mr Wilson said the beam had only moved "probably quarter of a metre" and that before lowering it he "had no awareness at all" Mr Osolos had been near it.

JOS site supervisor Paul Keating told the inquest he and his team had moved to the side of the bearing to apply mortar, ready for the beam to be lowered down.

He told the jury the crane had lowered the beam into place until "for all intents and purposes the beam was down and landed".

Mr Keating said he had asked Mr Osolos to remove excess mortar, which had squeezed out when the beam had landed.

"He would have just crouched down to clean off the mortar," Mr Keating said.

"I didn't see the beam move. I remember Cris screaming and the beam getting lifted."

The hearing continues.