PHOENIX, AZ — A report by the state's worker safety agency reveals new information about the roof collapse at a Phoenix warehouse that killed a worker.
On the evening of July 24th eight employees were on-site at a warehouse near 42rd Avenue and Van Buren Street.
One of them, Oswaldo Montoya Torres, was in a temperature-controlled room on the warehouse’s north side. The 22-year-old was getting breakroom supplies.
A storm hit with 70 mph winds, causing the north wall and parts of the roof to collapse into the building, according to a report released Thursday by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH).
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The other employees sheltered in an office on the warehouse’s south side. They called 911 once they realized he was missing. Rescuers found his body after a nearly three-day search. He was still in the temperature-controlled room, according to the report.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner has ruled his death accidental, saying he died of injuries sustained during the structural collapse.
Freeport Logistics Inc., in business for 53 years, operates the 163,200-square-foot warehouse.
ADOSH conducted an inspection and found no violations of state or federal safety standards, ADOSH Director Brian Hudson said on Thursday during a public meeting where the report was reviewed.
An attorney for the man’s family said the family is investigating and is not yet ready to talk about what happened.
In July, Phoenix Fire Captain Todd Keller described to ABC15 the extensive rescue operation to find him. Searchers worked 12-hour shifts, bringing in heavy equipment to move debris and using drones and dogs to try to locate him.
He said Montoya Torres was a hard worker and a new father.
“We’ve learned he’s an amazing man,” Keller said. “He was a great dad.”
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
