Authorities have released the name of the construction worker killed in a fall from the roof of the new fellowship hall being built at Clarkesville First United Methodist Church.
43-year-old Michael Alan Dawson died Wednesday after he fell from a steel beam onto the concrete pad some 22 feet below.
The accident happened around 11:15 a.m. on July 5. Dawson was transported and admitted to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. He died several hours later from blunt force trauma to the head, according to Habersham County Deputy Coroner Ken Franklin.
“Whether he tripped, whether he slipped, no one knows,” says Franklin. “(He) just came over the edge.”
Contractor Tom Adams of Adams Construction in Rabun Gap is overseeing construction at the church. He says Dawson was a subcontractor on the project. Dawson was employed with Dawson Construction of Toccoa and lived in Demorest.
“He just fell off the roof,” Adams says. “It’s an accident.” Franklin says Dawson was wearing safety gear at the time of the fall.
Adams says the building site was shutdown Wednesday following the accident. Workers were back on site today, as were investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Clarkesville First UMC released a statement saying, “We are praying for the Dawson family and encourage everyone else to do so.”
Habersham County Coroner Kasey McEntire echoed that sentiment when he publicly released Dawson’s name Thursday. McEntire says, “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone (affected) at this time.”
