Worker dead, another injured after falling through roof of Detroit school

One construction worker is dead and another is injured after falling through the roof of a school in Detroit.

It happened just after 8 a.m. this morning, as the workers were on the roof of Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary-Middle School on Puritan Avenue.

A spokesperson for the Detroit Fire Department told us that the workers fell through the roof two stories into the basement.

The cause of this incident has yet to be revealed by authorities.

"I got a text from my daughter around 10:21 this morning and the text actually was a screenshot of a news report that one person had died here and another was injured," said Ronald Foster who has a middle school student at Bethune. "Upon arriving, I noticed plenty of police cars up here, a lot of presence. All the kids were evacuated which I think was good. They was lined up appropriately. They were pretty much getting everybody out of the school."

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Foster says his daughter and others were visibly shaken up by the news. He says he's hopeful the district will put supports in place for students as they return to the building.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District released the following statement about the incident:

"Today at Bethune Elementary a contractor’s employee passed away after falling while repairing the building’s damper. Another contractor employee was also injured. The authorities are conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident. Students were isolated from the accident and were not involved. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the contractors and their employees and their families. School was dismissed early to avoid distractions to staff and students and allow authorities space and time to address the accident."

This is a developing story. 7 News Detroit has a crew at the scene and will update this story when more information becomes readily available