Man killed in scaffolding collapse identified as PAMM employee

2 others survive scaffolding collapse in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. ā€“ A man who died after a scaffolding collapse Monday in Hollywood was identified Tuesday as Raymond Brown, 32, an employee at the Perez Art Museum Miami.

"Our PAMMily is heartbroken to hear of the passing of Raymond Brown. Ray was a beloved core member of our art handling prep team," PAMM Director Franklin Sirmans said in a statement. "He was a talented artist and musician with a great attitude. Hardworking and dependable, Ray began working with PAMM in 2013 to help open our building. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

"Raymond Brown was instrumental in working alongside our exhibitions program since the museum opened and has been a great friend to all who knew him," chief preparator Jay Ore added. "Ray was an artist himself as he shared with his passion for music. He was a sweetheart and will be missed dearly."

Hollywood police identified the survivors of the collapse as Douglas Hoekzema, 36, of Boca Raton, and Jonathan Olsen, 36, of Miami.

Hollywood police spokeswoman Miranda Grossman said the incident happened about 1:30 p.m. Monday at 4111 S. Ocean Drive while the victims were painting a large mural on the facade of the building.

Grossman said scaffolding collapsed from 40 feet up the side of the Hyde Resort & Residences, which is under construction on Hollywood Beach.

"We heard a lot of commotion that someone was in distress on the south side of the building, and as we took a look over there we saw that two guys were dangling," a construction worker said.

Brown and another man were taken as trauma alerts to Memorial Regional Hospital, where Brown died.

The other person was suspended by a safety harness and was treated at the scene.

Sky 10 was above the scene as the man was brought down by Hollywood Fire Rescue crews. He was seen pacing back and forth while smoking a cigarette.

"Tragically, a section of scaffolding at Hyde Resort & Residences Hollywood fell yesterday afternoon," Eric Fordin, vice president of 4111 South Ocean Drive LLC, said Tuesday in a statement. "Security and safety are, and always have been, a priority at our construction site, and an internal investigation of this event is underway. We are deeply concerned andĀ send heartfelt thoughts to the individualsĀ involvedĀ and their families."

The executive vice president of John Moriarty & Associates of Florida, a general contracting and construction management company, released a statement on Wednesday, saying that work was temporarily suspended at the Hyde location, but has since resumed following clearance from OSHA.

"Security and safety are paramount to us. Active job sites are high-risk environments, in spite of the most stringent safety precautions. We take this incident very seriously and to heart," John Leete said in part. "We will continue to investigate until we fully understand what occurred, and take appropriate measures, to help prevent this from happening again."


About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.