California Electrician Falls 800 Feet From A Skyscraper On Second Day Of Work, Plummets To Death After Landing On A Passing Car

A California electrician met a tragic end after he fell 800 feet from a downtown Los Angeles skyscraper and landed on a passing car, according to USA Today.

The electrician, identified on Friday as the 36-year-old Joseph Sabbatino, was working at the under-construction Wilshire Grand hotel at “one of the busiest times of day at one of the busiest intersections in downtown Los Angeles.” The hotel building, once completed, will be the tallest building on the West Coast, reports Metro.

Sadly enough, it was only Joseph’s second day at work at Wilshere Grand when the unfortunate incident took place. Photographer Mel Melcon, who works at the Los Angeles Times, was present at the site of the accident when the electrician fell from the 53rd floor of the building.

“It sounded like a bag of cement fell off the edge of the building,” Melcon said. “No one thought it was a body. We heard no screams.”

“I thought that it was a piece if metal that they had dropped from the building,” another witness told KTLA.

Turner Construction, the company that manages the building site, uses safety nets to catch things from falling at some of the building’s highest points. But they are all installed at sites above the 53rd floor of the building, where the accident took place.

In a statement the company released after the electrician’s tragic demise, it said that Joseph was not supposed to be above the third floor for work. His hardhat and other safety paraphernalia were also not found near his body.

Sabbatino landed on a moving white hatchback near the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street, fire officials said. The female driver of the car was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, but she did not suffer any serious injuries.

“She was hysterical,” said one witness about the driver, before adding that rear panel of the car was splattered with the electrician’s blood.

It is not yet known what might have caused the accident. According to company officials, not only was Sabbatino not expected to be working that high on the building, he was also supposed to be wearing harnesses that are tethered.

Investigators said Joseph did not die while “performing any functions related to his employment or his work.”

Nearly 900 workers were working at the site at the time of the accident. Although investigators do not suspect any foul play at such an early stage of the investigation, they have not refused to rule out the possibility.

The construction company said that it will give a day off to its workers as a mark of respect for the deceased electrician, adding that it will extend its support to Sabbatino’s family members at such an untimely hour.

“Our hearts go out to the family of the deceased,” one of the spokespersons for the company said. “We are also sending our deepest sympathies to our loyal and dedicated workers for whom today’s tragedy is deeply saddening.”

Worker who fell 53 stories from downtown L.A. high-rise had no reason to be above third floor, company says https://t.co/NgW927CnQI

— L.A. Times: L.A. Now (@LANow) March 18, 2016

The 1,100-foot-tall skyscraper is going to be 73 stories high after it is completed and will become functional by 2017, at which point it will overtake the U.S. Bank Tower as the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. This is the first such accident to have taken place at the site.

But that would come as no respite to the grieving electrician’s family who fell to his death from the unfinished skyscraper in such an unfortunate manner.

[Image via Shutterstock]