A construction worker who was operating equipment on the roof of Northwestern University’s former James L. Allen Center died on Thursday after falling approximately four stories, according to the Evanston Police Department.
On Friday afternoon, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the 57-year-old worker as Thomas H. Barcy, Jr., a Schaumburg resident.
Barcy’s death was ruled as an accident caused by a fall from height, according to Medical Examiner’s Office records.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the police report.
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He fell from the roof of the building, located at 2169 Campus Drive, which is under renovation to become the Ann McIlrath Drake Executive Center for the Kellogg School of Management.
The Evanston Police and Fire Department responded to a reported construction accident at the building shortly before 3:30 p.m. on April 30, according to Evanston Police Commander Chelsea Brown.
When reached for comment on the incident, a Northwestern University spokesperson told the Pioneer Press that the school was “aware of an incident that took place at the construction site of a new Kellogg building” on campus on Thursday.
“Our thoughts are with those involved,” they added.
Police are working with university personnel to investigate the incident.
According to Brown, the construction contractors on site at the time are also cooperating with the Evanston Police Department’s investigation.
“At this time, there are no signs of criminal activity,” Brown added.
The new Kellogg School of Management’s Ann McIlrath Drake Executive Center will house the business school’s executive MBA and executive education programs.
According to the school’s website, the building is on track for a fall 2027 completion date.
The project, made possible by a $70 million gift to the school, represents a portion of the $600 million fundraising campaign to “modernize” the Kellogg campus, according to the Kellogg School of Management’s website.
The worker’s death comes a little less than a year after worker Stephen Schmitz, 38, collapsed while working one of the university’s cranes on the Ryan Field construction site in July, according to news reports.
In 2024, technical surveyor David O’Donnell fell about nine stories from scaffolding during high winds at the then-in-progress construction site of a cancer research center at UChicago Medicine in Chicago.
His co-worker also fell and suffered what an attorney described as “severe, life-altering physical and psychological trauma.”
O’Donnell’s family reached a $23.5 million settlement with two construction companies.
This story has been updated to correct the name of the construction worker. The victim’s name was misspelled on information shared by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.