Worker killed in accident at Wake construction site identified

The accident occurred at about 11:30 a.m. in the 4400 block of Auburn Knightdale Road, said Tim Herman, deputy chief of Garner Fire Rescue.

Herman said cranes and other specialized equipment were being brought in to stabilize the loose soil in the area so crews could recover the worker's body.

"The scene is very unsafe, very unstable. We're using caution to protect everybody out here," he said.

Raleigh's Urban Search and Rescue team, a specially trained unit that can safely enter unstable environments, also was called in to help, Herman said.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office and the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health were investigating to determine how the accident occurred.

"It's heartbreaking. It is just heartbreaking," said Merle Coats, who lives across the street from the construction site. "We've watched these men working every day since they started this housing development, and they're hard workers."

Nearly a week after the accident, the Wake County Sheriff's Office identified the worker as Nolvia Ruiz-Turcios Martinez, 48, of Raleigh.

Construction crews were grading the site for Auburn Village, a collection of about 350 ranch homes for active adults being developed by Lennar Homes.

"We were hoping it was a heatstroke or a heat-related accident," Ricky Coats said of seeing first responders rush to the site. "We kept seeing things roll in, and we probably figured it was going to be a little bit worse than that."

Construction accidents accounted for half of the 44 workplace deaths in North Carolina in the last year, according to the Department of Labor.