The electrician hit the trunk of the car, which was sitting at the corner Wilshire Boulevard and Figueroa Street with the blanket-covered body and a coroner's tent hours later. The car was badly damaged.
The woman who was driving did not appear to be seriously hurt but was taken to a hospital, city fire officials said.
The worker was an electrician with ASSI, according to a spokeswoman with California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
At about noon, the reporter took a construction hoist from the 71st floor down to the first floor of the hotel, which will be the West Coast’s tallest building when it is completed.
After stepping off the hoist he heard what sounded like “a large bag of cement hitting the ground."
The electrician was not supposed to be above the third floor and had removed his hard hat before falling 53 floors, construction company officials said.
The worker had not been wearing a safety harness because it wasn’t required for the bottom floors he was working on, said a spokeswoman for Turner Construction, the main contractor on the project.
A top-out ceremony was held earlier this month when the top beam was hoisted into place on the 73rd floor.
The $1 billion office and hotel tower being developed by Korean Airlines Co. Ltd. is expected to open in early 2017.
The building is near the Staples Center arena where the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers play and is at the center of the bustling and fast-growing financial district of downtown.
Chris Martin, CEO of Martin Project Management which is supervising the construction, says there were barricades around the edge of the building and other safety measures in place.
"There's safety training for every worker on the job, and certain locations there's very specialized training. So these are all smart people," Martin said. "
We had no injuries up to this date."
Work at the jobsite, which had been suspended, will resume today.
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