Construction worker dies at Columbus courthouse site; contractor says it was a ‘personal medical condition’

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — A worker died Friday afternoon at the construction site of the new Muscogee County courthouse on Tenth Street.

Danny King, 51, of Cusseta, was pronounced dead at 3:05 p.m. at the Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown emergency room, Coroner Buddy Bryan tells WRBL News 3.

The construction site was shut down on Monday by the contractors Gilbane, Inc., and Freeman & Associates.

“This is a pretty traumatic thing,” said Freeman Executive Vice President David Hawkins. “It was a personal medical condition.”

Work will resume on Tuesday at the construction site with counselors on site to speak with employees who request it, Hawkins said.

Coroner Buddy Bryan said that since King’s death was from undetermined causes, the body was sent to the state crime lab in Decatur for an autopsy. Bryan says that it is a common practice when a death occurs on a large job site.

“He [King] called for an ambulance, and by the time EMS responded, King was unresponsive,” Bryan said. “There appeared to be no trauma or foul play suspected.”

Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson said he was informed of the death on Friday.

“I did hear from one of the contractors that they had an individual pass away out of the job site,” Henderson said. “No accidents, nothing to do with the construction itself.”

The $200 million courthouse project is scheduled for completion early next fall. The lead contractor is Gilbane, Inc. Freeman & Associates is the local contractor working with Gilbane.