Staff Report

ST. JAMES – Sheriff’s officials in St. James Parish said Thursday a Harvey man working a construction job at a storage tank died after a 40-foot fall from scaffolding inside.

Deputies on the scene said Brandon Billiot, 30, was wearing a safety harness at the time of the fall, but investigators have not determined if the harness was properly tied off. The incident has prompted an investigation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Capt. Sid Berthelot, chief of detectives for the St. James Sheriff’s Office, said investigators have determined the fall, which occurred Monday morning at Plains Marketing LP in St. James, was accidental. Berthelot said witnesses saw Billiot fall from the tank.

Berthelot said Billiot was taken by helicopter to St. James Hospital with internal injuries. He said Billiot died in the hospital later that day.