Miami

TV Tower Workers Killed in Scaffolding Collapse Identified

Miami Gardens Police Department on Thursday identified the three workers killed in a scaffolding collapse at a television tower.

Brachton Barber, 23, Marcus Goffena, 31, and Benito Rodriguez, 35 died when the gin pole they were working on fell to the ground Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives along with investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were working Thursday to pinpoint what caused the gin pole to come crashing down.

The men were attached with safety straps to the gin pole as they were replacing a dummy pole with a new antenna on the 1,040-foot broadcast transmission tower on Northwest 207th Street, officials said. A malfunction occured and the gin pole gave way.

The men’s coworkers witnessed the collapse. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said a TV station engineer who witnessed the collapse said the workers were closer to the top around 900 feet when they fell to their deaths.

Eric Garner was nearby and heard the deafening sound of the crashing structure.

"It sounded like the winds from the hurricane," explained Garner. "When I heard the boom, I saw the debris fly up in the air and I immediately called 911."

The men worked for Texas-based company Tower King II. Brachton lived in Longwood, Florida, Goffena lived in Ohio and Rodriguez was from Tampa. The company’s president Kevin Barber said the workers were hired by WSVN to work on the tower shared with WPLG, which is part of a requirement by the Federal Communication Commission.

The tower was constructed in 2009 and is currently deemed structurally sound, records show.

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