A 45-year-old man was pronounced dead Thursday at the site of a hotel under construction on the northwest side. Now a federal agency is reviewing what happened.
SAN ANTONIO — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says it’s opening an investigation into the Thursday death of a construction worker in northwest San Antonio.
The man who died, identified Friday morning as 45-year-old Emilio Macareno-Rodriguez, was pronounced dead at the site of $10 million Holiday Inn hotel being built at the Rim, according to San Antonio police personnel on scene. Authorities say he fell off a lift at the work site; first responders’ attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
“It was simply a workplace accident,” the officer at the scene in the 5700 block of Rim Pass said.
The medical examiner has yet to rule on an official cause or manner of death for Macareno-Rodriguez. The San Antonio Fire Department said it initially received a call around 4:15 p.m. for cardiac arrest.
A KENS 5 crew on the scene observed heavy equipment picking up a lift that had apparently toppled over.
The investigation by OSHA, a federal agency that works to enforce workplace standards and investigates mishaps, could take up to six months and might result in fines if it discovers any violations that might have led to Macareno-Rodriguez’s death.
While the agency didn’t provide any additional details about the Rim Pass incident, it’s expected investigations will conduct an on-site inspection as part of the probe.
A construction filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows a six-story hotel has been under construction at the site since November 2024.