Investigation underway after Mid-Missouri man dies during bridge construction

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating how a California, Missouri, man died while working on a northwest Missouri bridge construction project.

The Clay County Sheriff's Office said Connor Ernst, 22, was killed when a bridge under construction collapsed Wednesday outside of Kearney. Clay County is located north and east of Kansas City.

Contractors were pouring concrete on the bridge when it collapsed, trapping four people, the sheriff's office said. Three of them got out and were sent to a hospital with minor injuries.

Construction started in May 2021 on the bridge that has been closed since 2016, the sheriff's office said.

An OHSA spokesman told ABC 17 News on Thursday that Lehman Construction is being investigated in connection with the collapse.

"OSHA will be conducting interviews with witnesses, the employer and other employees to determine if the company was following all OSHA standards and regulations," Scott Allen wrote in an email. "OSHA will not have any further information until they complete their investigation, which, by law, they have 6 months to complete."

An engineer inspected the bridge before the concrete was poured, the sheriff's office said.

Lehman Construction paid fines related to prior OSHA investigations in 2019 and 2021, according to the agency's records.

The company has not responded to ABC 17's request for comment.