Three hurt in construction collapse at Santa Fe High

SANTE FE, TX (KTRK) -- Three workers were injured Friday morning in a partial construction collapse at Santa Fe High School in Galveston County.

At 9:30am, Santa Fe police arrived at the high school located in the 16000 block of Highway 6 to find three injured workers as a result of a partial construction collapse. One of the workers, Richard Steinecke of New Caney, sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of a 50-foot fall. The worker was partially pinned under a large metal I-beam.

Police say a technical rescue was initiated and the victim was extricated from under the beam. SkyEye HD was over the scene and steel beams could be seen laying on the ground.

Steinecke, 21, was initially being flown via LifeFlight to Memorial Hermann, however was diverted to UTMB where he is in critical condition.

"He was actually tethered to the structure. I believe he was tethered to protect him from falling, which obviously is not gonna protect you if the structure actually falls. That's what he was tethered to," said Sgt. Eric Bruss of the Santa Fe Police Department.

Two other workers, Cody Key, 26, of Conroe and Escolastico Mendez, 44, of Houston, suffered less severe injuries. Police say all three injured workers are believed to work for P&C Construction Erectors of Porter.

According to its website, the high school is building a new auditorium on the site. The school is on Spring Break this week.

Police do not know the cause of the collapse. The incident is being investigated by OSHA, police say.

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