Aleia Lopez, Pittsburgh mom of 3 killed in freak accident after runaway steel drum at Oakland construction site rolls down a hill, fatally striking her. Is victim’s family eligible to file a lawsuit?
A Pennsylvania mother of thee and hospital worker was killed when a steel drum broke free from a construction site, rolled down a hill and fatally struck her as she was walking along a Pittsburgh street.
Aleia Lopez, 51, of Pittsburgh’s North Side, was walking with colleagues on break from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Western Psychiatric Hospital when the metal cylinder weighing thousands of pounds slammed into her, causing fatal head injuries.
Bystanders tried to help before medics arrived but Lopez was pronounced dead at the Friday morning scene, according to police.
Investigation launched
The metal drum, which likely weighed at least a ton, was on a construction site next to the university’s Peterson Events Center where a new 240,000-square-foot arena is being built, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Pittsburgh police and EMS were called to the 3700 block of Terrace Street near Petersen Events Center around 10:40 a.m, Friday morning, WTAE reported.
Officials stated the cylinder rolled down a hill at the site, through a fence and struck the woman, coming to rest against a pickup truck according to a City of Pittsburgh release.
The construction site is a joint venture between Gilbane and Massaro.
The city and the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the incident.
In the aftermath, the contractor, Costa Contracting, said it was ‘committed to a full investigation.’
Lawsuit?
Read a GoFundMe set up for Lopez’s funeral expanses and family by her mother, Melanie Hall: ‘Aleia was a light in the lives of all that knew her and the rock for her three children Angelia, Leilani, and Ethan. Her sudden death has put her family, especially her children, in considerable financial hardship.’
Lopez, who attended the University of Pittsburgh, was an executive assistant at the psychiatric hospital for the past five years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
‘While this was not a UPMC construction site, this tragedy impacts our campuses and we are providing support services to our employees,’ according to a statement from UPMC. ‘Our deepest sympathies are with the victim’s family, friends and colleagues.’
Not immediately clear is whether all the requisite safety and occupational safety standards were being observed on the site and whether the victim’s family is now eligible to file suit.
