As pressure mounts to determine the cause of a deadly partial collapse of the Government Center garage that killed a construction worker over the weekend, new details have emerged about the conditions of the construction site.
A portion of the parking garage collapsed on Saturday, killing 51-year-old Peter Monsini of South Easton and sending another person to the hospital. Monsini's family issued a statement Monday saying they are "in shock trying to process the loss of Peter."
Part of the Government Center garage, which is being demolished, came down after a concrete slab on the ninth floor collapsed. The demolition is all part of the $1.5 billion Bullfinch Redevelopment Project, construction firm John Moriarty & Associates said in a statement. The finished project is expected to include a parking garage surrounded by office and apartment buildings.
NBC10 Boston investigators discovered a call for help to that same construction site months prior to the deadly collapse. Footage of the construction area from Jan. 14, shows a sizable fire rescue response.
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According to the scanner audio from that night, firefighters were called for a "unsafe, unstable worksite involving a crane." First responders initially planned to stage a rescue operation on Surface Road at New Chardon street but later determined it would not be necessary.
According to the police incident report, emergency crews responded after a water main break caused a water leak at the site. Boston water and Sewer responded for the leak and the Boston Fire Department and Bay Crane eventually determined the crane stable. The report stated that the site would be closed and the crane monitored through the right until an engineer could inspect it. What that engineer found was not included in the report.
The project’s developers, HYM Investments, issued a statement about the Jan. 14 response.
"On January 14th, 2022, there was a water main break on several city water lines in the area of the site. In alignment with industry protocol, work was immediately stopped and engineers on site were brought in to investigate," they said. "A crane that was on site was moved out of the way, allowing a repair crew to excavate and replace the sections of water lines that were causing the leak. All repair work was done by an approved contractor experienced in making such repairs and thoroughly inspected by Boston Water and Sewer (BWSC) before work on the site resumed."
A large-scale investigation into the collapse is now being conducted by Boston police, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden's Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hayden said Monday his office isn't discarding the possibility of criminal charges.
"Whether some degree of negligence rise to criminality, that's what our investigation will be focused on," Hayden said.
The collapse continues to impact commuters. The MBTA suspended service through the tunnels, which travel beneath the Government Center Parking Garage, as safety inspections are conducted. Subway service on downtown stretches of the Green Line will remains offline. As of Tuesday afternoon, service had resumed on the Orange Line, but trains will bypass the Haymarket stop in both directions.
