Safety report on Phoenix warehouse roof collapse that killed worker found no violations

The death of man who was killed after the roof of the warehouse he worked out of collapsed last July did not appear to be due to any occupational hazards or workplace safety violations.

According to an inspection report from the Industrial Commission of Arizona — the state's division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or ADOSH — 22-year-old Oswaldo Montoya was killed after high winds caused part of a warehouse's north wall and roof to collapse into the building on July 24.

The report states Montoya was an employee at Freeport Logistics, a warehouse distribution company, at a warehouse near 47th Avenue and Van Buren Street in Phoenix. Montoya had worked for the company for roughly a year as an order selector.

The report said Montoya went to a "cold room" — a temperature-controlled room that stores things like food and other supplies — to retrieve countertops and breakroom supplies when 70 mph winds collapsed the building's north wall and ceiling on the cold room while he was still inside.

The report states a shift supervisor noticed water leaking from the ceiling and that the building was shaking while scared employees sat on the ground. The supervisor gathered the employees up and was going to take shelter at a guard shack outside the warehouse but could not due to flying debris and sheet metal.

The report said the supervisor noticed Montoya was unaccounted for and headed to the cold room to look for him when he saw the north side of the building's roof had collapsed onto it.

The supervisor and employees ultimately took shelter in an office area and called 911.

An emergency rescue team eventually retrieved Montoya's body on July 27 after removing nearly 50,000 pounds of concrete and debris.

The report stated the Maricopa County medical examiner found Montoya's cause of death to be mechanical asphyxiation — meaning physical force or an object prevented Montoya from breathing — and blunt force trauma.

A records search on OSHA's website showed the company was cited for two violations on July 2, 2020 for a total fine of $2,400, though it was not immediately clear what the violations were as of Tuesday.

ADOSH inspectors interviewed managers and the company's president after the incident, who showed them the company had a comprehensive emergency action plan that employees were trained on during their onboarding that included a section on what to do in severe weather.

According to the company's plan, a supervisor is supposed to announce severe weather events, and employees are to remain inside the warehouse until the weather subsided. Freeport Logistics also had a six-member safety committee that would tour the warehouse and other facilities to identify and correct potential safety hazards.

Maps of the warehouse that showed the locations of the emergency exits were also posted throughout the building.

"At this time, it is unknown how this incident could have been prevented," the report concluded.