A construction worker at an ASU building site had to be rescued after a wooden wall collapsed on top of him.
Antelmo Gallardo, an employee of Construction and Consulting Specialists, sustained injuries to his spine in the accident at the Adelphi Commons II building site on campus Friday.
Doctors at Scottsdale-Osborn Hospital ran tests on Gallardo to look for further injuries, said CCS spokesman Brad Fulmer.
Gallardo was in fair condition as of Sunday afternoon.
Adelphi II is a $13.9 million housing complex scheduled to open in fall 2004. It will be home to six ASU fraternities.
In a statement released Friday, ASU spokesman Keith Jennings said Gallardo was pinned beneath the collapsed wall and had to be rescued by Tempe, Mesa and Phoenix fire units. He was then taken by ambulance to Scottsdale-Osborn Hospital.
Gallardo was conscious and alert throughout the entire ordeal, Fulmer said.
Fulmer said an 11-man crew constructed the wall on the third floor of the unfinished building and was attempting to put it into place when the accident occurred.
"The crew was lifting the wall by hand and for some reason they couldn't lift it up all the way," Fulmer said. "The wall then started to come back down on them."
"Everyone was able to get out of the way except (Gallardo) and it pinned him to the ground," he said.
Fulmer also said that an investigation of the incident was underway.
Barbara Bean, a spokeswoman for the contracting firm Kitchell Corporation, said the firm was interviewing witnesses at the site about the accident in an effort to find its cause.
But structural faults, Bean added, have been ruled out as the cause of the wall collapse.
"The building is structurally sound and this should not cause anyone who plans on living at this site next fall to worry," Bean said.
"At this point, we are on schedule, and barring a serious problem, Adelphi II will open to students on time next fall," Bean said.
Reach the reporter at jason.samuels@asu.edu.
