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The Los Angeles Metro Purple Line at Union Station. | Photo courtesy of Visitor7/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
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Authorities Tuesday identified a worker who was struck and killed by a construction train at the future site of the LA Metro Wilshire/La Brea Station on Purple Line Extension Project.
Alejandro Zuniga, 33, of Los Angeles died at the scene, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office reported.
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters were called just after 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, to Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue on reports of a person stuck under a train, according to the department’s Nicholas Prange.
LA Metro is working with officials from all regulatory agencies to gather information on the incident to determine what occurred, said Rick Jager, the communications manager for LA Metro.
Zuniga was a contractor working on the project and was not a Metro employee, Jager said.
Construction trains are used to transport materials to sites in the initial 3.9-mile extension of the D Line from Western Avenue to La Cienega Boulevard under Wilshire Boulevard.
“I can’t imagine a job more noble than building a project that will help millions of people get to work, school and countless other important destinations,” Metro CEO Stephanie N. Wiggins said in a statement. “This is a tragedy beyond words and the entire LA Metro family and Metro Board of Directors offers its deepest condolences to the worker’s family, friends and colleagues.”
The initial section of the extension is forecast to open in 2024. The project is being built in a joint venture by contractors Skanska, Traylor Bros. Inc. and J.F. Shea Co.
