Construction worker dies at Echelon site

A 49-year-old construction worker was killed early Monday when he fell about 15 feet and suffered fatal injuries after landing on his head while dismantling scaffolding at the Echelon construction site.

The carpenter was identified by sources as Lyndall Bates, 49, of Tempe, Ariz. They said Bates was taking down scaffolding in the basement level of the Echelon tower when the accident occurred.

Bates' death was the 12th construction related fatality on the Strip in the past 18 months, although it was the first fatal accident at Boyd Gaming Corp.’s $4.8 billion Echelon project.

Bates was a member of the Carpenters Union 1780, which could not be reached for comment.

All work at the Echelon site was suspended following the early morning Monday accident, according to a statement released through Boyd Gaming.

A spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Business and Industry said the state OSHA office has begun an investigation into the Echelon fatality but the spokesman said the agency not comment on open investigations.

In a statement, Tishman Construction, Marnell Corrao Associates and Boyd Gaming said they are “cooperating fully with (Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and all other appropriate agencies to determine the cause of this morning’s accident.”

Tishman Construction is the construction manager for Echelon and Marnell Corrao Associates is the concrete prime contractor. The carpenter was working for Marnell Corrao.

Six workers have died at the $9.2 billion CityCenter site, and two have been killed at the $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan site.