3 Charged in Construction Site Cave-In Death : Soils Engineer and Builders Accused of Manslaughter in Accident a Year Ago

A soils engineer and two construction company officials were charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a cave-in last year that killed a worker at a downtown Los Angeles mini-mall construction site.

Jesus Flores, 30, of South El Monte, was cleaning dirt out of trenches at 1411 Sunset Blvd. last Jan. 7 after a rainstorm when a 14 1/2-foot embankment collapsed on top of him. He died at the scene of what an autopsy report described as asphyxia by compression.

Prosecutors allege that the soils engineer, Richard Hu, 50, of La Habra Heights, was grossly negligent in failing to recommend shoring up the vertical cut. The cut had exposed planes of rock pointing into the excavation at an angle of nearly 45 degrees, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Jan Chatten-Brown.

She said Hu, by reporting that the excavation site was made of homogeneous sandstone, “did not accurately reflect what people out in the field found.”

Also named in the complaint were the general contractor, Panda Development & Construction Co. of Monterey Park; its subcontractor, G. A. L. Concrete Construction Co. of El Monte; G. A. L.’s president, Benjamin Lowe, 58, of Los Angeles, and foreman Michael Berry, 44, of Norwalk.

Misdemeanor Violations

In addition to involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum four-year state prison sentence or a $10,000 fine, all five defendants are charged with 14 misdemeanor violations of the labor code. Panda is also charged with one other labor code violation.

The defendants were scheduled to surrender for arraignment Jan. 22 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Chatten-Brown said a key witness in the case will be Robert J. Ings, the excavator who made the original cut in December, 1986, and subsequently alerted Hu, Lowe and Panda officials that he was concerned about the potential for a slide.

No shoring was installed, however, and Lowe reportedly told the excavator to accelerate the digging to prevent a permit from expiring, the district attorney’s office said.

Chatten-Brown, special assistant to the district attorney in the Environmental Crimes/Occupational Safety and Health Division, said G. A. L. has been cited by Cal/OSHA, the state job safety agency, at least 40 times for safety violations at 10 different construction sites.

Lowe, reached at his office, said: “We are not at fault at all. We acted according to the recommendations of the soils engineer.”

Neither Hu, president of Hu & Associates of Santa Fe Springs, his attorney, nor Panda officials could be reached for comment.

Chatten-Brown said work at the construction site was halted after Flores’ death but was resumed last November.