Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

Utility worker killed in power line accident

WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Police in Westerville say a utility worker died today after he was apparently electrocuted while coming into contact with a high-voltage power line. Police said the 43-year-old man was running new cable lines in this suburban Columbus city as a subcontractor for Time Warner Cable. His name was not released. His body was taken to the coroner's office. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was called to the scene and the incident will be investigated, police said. Messages seeking comment were left at local Time Warner offices Friday night.


Man struck and killed while repaving Highway 40

MO - An engineering student interning with a highway construction company was struck and killed early Saturday while helping repave Highway 40 (Interstate 64) in Chesterfield. Gavin Donohue, 22, of St. Louis, a student at the University of Missouri - Rolla, was killed about 3:30 a.m. when a driver pulled into the barricaded lane where he was working, his family said. The driver, who may have been intoxicated, was on his way home to St. Peters when he crashed, family said. Police expected to release details of the incident later today. Donohue was working with Pace Industrial during the summer to earn money and gain engineering experience, said his mother Joan Bradford. She described him as a bright, fun man who touched many lives. "He was just this loving, charismatic guy," Bradford said. "He had a plan. He had a future. He wanted to build things." In May, Donohue and other students with Engineers Without Borders visited Guatemala to build an earthquake-resistant school.


Ricky Glenney dies after being struck by pallet

OH - The Webster County Medical Examiner released the name of the man killed in a Tuesday accident at Fort Dodge Ice & Cold. Ricky Glenney, 52, died Tuesday morning after being struck by a pallet of frozen meat products. Rescue workers were called to the scene on the northeast edge of Fort Dodge at about 9:30 a.m. and found Glenney unconscious. He was taken to Trinity Regional Medical Center, where he died. An autopsy done by the state medical examiner’s office shows Glenney died of blunt-force injuries, Webster County Medical Examiner Dan Cole said. The office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident. The investigation will take about two to three weeks, which is standard, said Jens Nissen, executive officer of the Des Moines OSHA enforcement division. Glenney had worked at Fort Dodge Ice & Cold for about two weeks, according to officials at USA Staffing. USA Staffing is an employment agency that provides Fort Dodge employers with temporary or direct hire workers. Glenney was hired at Fort Dodge Ice & Cold through the agency.


Construction Worker Killed in Accident on Seabee Base

MS - A Moss Point man is dead following an accident at the Seabee Base. According to Harrison County coroner Gary Hargrove, the accident happened while 29-year-old Tracy Evans was working on a draining project for the base. Evans was helping some people get ready to lay a section of pipe when he got caught between a track hoe and the pipe. Hargrove says the pipe broke lose from the front end loader and pinned him between the pipe and the tractor. According to Hargrove, Evans suffered severe head injuries and died immediately after the accident occurred. Evans worked for SCI, who is a subcontractor for BE and K. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday.


Arkansas man dies at Salem water company

SALEM, SC — A 52-year-old Arkansas man died Tuesday near Salem when the ladder he was using to replace an emergency exit sign fell from beneath him. Danny D. Tucker of Hot Springs, Ark., was about 19 feet high on ladder that was leaning against a wall in the C.G. Roxane Bottled Water Co. warehouse. Mr. Tucker was relocating an emergency exit sign when the ladder fell, Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis said. Co-workers found Mr. Tucker lying on the floor near the ladder’s base and provided CPR until emergency medical workers arrived. Emergency responders arrived at the plant in about 25 minutes and called the coroner’s office, Mr. Addis said in a statement. Mr. Tucker died at about 12:20 p.m. Authorities believe the sign Mr. Tucker was working with was turned on at the time of his fall. A heart attack, electrical injury or trauma from the fall could have caused his death, Mr. Addis said. An autopsy is scheduled for today to allow for determination of the cause of death.


Local farmer killed in tractor accident

MEDINA COUNTY, OH -- A farmer working in a field off Seville Road was killed in a tractor accident. The Medina County Sheriff's Department says Thomas Gallatin was loading hay bales when he made a left turn on a grade. The tractor rolled to the right and landed upside down on top of the 66-year-old farmer. Gallatin's brother found him pinned between the steering wheel and a log on the ground.



One Dead In Lancaster Industrial Accident

LANCASTER One worker is dead after an industrial accident at the Atlantic Paper Company in Lancaster. Officials say he was caught in a roll cutter and died. The victim has been identified as 40-year-old Jose Perez. He had worked at the company for four years. The company released the following statement in regards to the death: "Atlantic Paper Company has been devastated by a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of one its employees. The owners and employees are heartbroken as we all feel like family. As a 35-year-old safety-conscious company, this is the only major incident to occur in it history. Our prayers go out the family and friends. All we can do is depend on God to help us through this difficult time." The Atlantic Paper Company is a small, family owned company with 18 employees. While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation is underway, the company will be closed.


Businessman's slaying stuns friends

IN - In life, Richard C. Raasch was a businessman who supported community endeavors and liked to socialize. His death, thought to be a homicide, is much more of a mystery. "Dick was just very good at coming to events," said Kris Butler, president of the Greater Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. "He definitely had managed to meet a lot of the chamber members, and he was doing his job well out here in Lawrence." Butler said she was shocked when she learned that it was Raasch's remains that had been discovered last week at the former Pendleton Pike Drive-in. Baasch, who lived on the Eastside in the 1200 block of North Butler Avenue, had been missing for about a month. He was last seen at his home. Derek Raasch, his son, filed a missing-person report June 14 with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. It said Richard Raasch was known to spend free time at Hooters of Castleton restaurant and the Beer Sellar tavern in the 6400 block of East 82nd Street. After his skeletal remains were discovered, Raasch was identified through dental records.


Driver killed in single-car collision with tree

AL - Brandy Nichole Tillis of Smiths Station, Ala., was killed in a single-car accident Monday when her brakes failed, Alabama State Troopers said. Tillis, 27, was pronounced dead at 3:35 p.m. at Lee Road 292 and 242. She was traveling south on Lee Road 292 when her brakes failed, causing her to run a stop sign at the intersection of Lee Road 242, just outside of Smiths Station. Troopers said Tillis' 1990 Ford then went into a ravine, flipped and struck a tree. Also in the vehicle was 14-year-old Jason Hill of Smiths Station. Hill was injured in the accident and taken to a hospital, but troopers did not know the extent of his injuries. Tillis was wearing her seat belt, troopers said.


Romanian worker found dead in Adirondack Inn pool

LAKE PLACID — A 21-year-old Romanian student was found dead at the bottom of a Lake Placid hotel pool Wednesday. Calin Gheorghe Matus, 21, was found by a co-worker around 7:30 a.m. when she arrived at the Adirondack Inn on Main Street for work. Matus was working the overnight shift at the hotel and was not at the front desk when his co-worker arrived. Upon looking for Matus, the co-worker called police and reported finding a body at the bottom of the pool. Police initially did not know whether or not it was Matus but thought that it was likely an employee. “He had his clothes laid out like he was just taking a swim,” Lake Placid police Sgt. Bill Moore said today. An initial investigation revealed that Matus did not know how to swim and likely went in the pool’s shallow end first.


Matus was a university student in Romania and worked at several other businesses around Lake Placid, including Central Garage and Swiss Acres. “We believe it was an accidental death,” Moore said. “It’s very unfortunate that this happened.”


Liquor store owner found dead

TX - Houston homicide detectives were called to a northeast Houston liquor store Tuesday to investigate a capital murder case. The unidentified victim was found dead Tuesday afternoon inside the store in the 9900 block of Homestead. Police were called by a customer who didn't see anyone inside the store and grew suspicous. The killer got away.


Singer killed in Wyoming once lived in Palmyra

PALMYRA,WY — Robin Munis was APSU grad, parents live in Clarksville. A woman who police say was killed by a sniper shot fired by her estranged husband in Wyoming lived with him in Tennessee before moving west about five years ago. Robin Munis was shot in the head just after midnight Saturday as she sang with the classic rock and country group Ty and the Twisters. Customers of the Old Chicago restaurant in Cheyenne, Wyo., ran for cover. uthorities were still searching today for David Munis, who received sharpshooter training while in the U.S. Army. He has been in the Wyoming National Guard since 2003. He had no criminal record and was about to be promoted to second lieutenant. An obituary notice for Munis published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle said she was a graduate of Austin Peay State University. Her parents, Charles and Gloria Werner, still live in Clarksville, and Munis will be buried there, according to the notice.


Construction worker killed

TX - Tragedy struck a Denison work place Monday afternoon when a construction worker died on the site. Denison Police Lt. Mike Eppler said Jason Walters, 25, who worked for a roofing company, was working on a building at 500 W. Main when he moved a 32-foot aluminum extension ladder. It became entangled with overhead electrical wires, fatally injuring Mr. Walters. Denison EMS was called at 5:35 p.m. and took Mr. Walters to Texoma Medical Center. Almost two hours later, at 7:21 p.m., Grayson County Justice of the Peace Mike Reeves made the death pronouncement. Eppler said the police investigation determined there was no evidence of foul play and that Mr. Walter’s death was accidental. They notified his next of kin. Mr. Walters was from Windom in Fannin County.


Vernon Co. Farmer Dies in Tractor Accident

WI - A farmer in rural La Farge is dead after the tractor he was driving overturned on top of him. The Vernon County Sheriff's Department says 77-year-old Carl Smith was removing weeds on his property in the Town of Webster Monday morning when the tractor overturned on an embankment and rolled on top of Smith. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident is under investigation by the Vernon County Sheriff's Department.



Abingdon Man Dies

VA - An Abingdon, Virginia man has been killed. It happened near exit 14 just before 5 o`clock Thursday afternoon. An employee at the Shell station was hit by a truck when he was walking behind the store. The name of the 47-year-old victim has not been released. Both Virginia state police and the Abingdon police department responded to the scene. Abingdon police say no charges have been filed as of right now. The investigation is on-going.


Wounded New York Police Officer Dies

NEW YORK - An officer shot in the face during a traffic stop died Saturday, and the suspected gunmen now face murder charges, officials said. Russel Timoshenko, 23, died at a hospital of injuries suffered early Monday after he and his partner stopped a stolen SUV in Brooklyn, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Timoshenko had been paralyzed, suffered brain swelling and was unable to breathe on his own. His partner, Herman Yan, who was saved by his bullet-resistant vest, was released from a hospital Tuesday.


Horse farm employee stabs co-worker to death

OCALA, FL - A night of drinking apparently led to the slaying of one Reddick horse farm employee by another early Saturday. Felipe Vorela Vaca, 35, also known as Hector Ortiz, died after being stabbed at the Lambholm South farm at 13400 N.W. County Road 225. Hours later, Marion County sheriff's deputies arrested Vorela's co-worker, Ren Montana, 25, charging him with second-degree murder. Montana told deputies that he and Vorela had been drinking heavily after work Friday night, and that Vorela had made sexual advances toward him, sheriff's Capt. Tommy Bibb said. Montana reportedly responded to Vorela's actions by stabbing him several times in the upper torso. Farm manager Alberto Torres found Vorela's body lying in the grass outside a barn and called 911 shortly before 5 a.m., according to sheriff's office reports.


Man dead at Lowe's was husband of worker

SANDUSKY, OH - Wife had been working at store earlier in the day. The man found dead at Lowe's Home Improvement on Friday evening has been identified by Perkins police as the husband of a Lowe's employee. Charles E. Gray, 43, Sandusky, was pronounced dead on the scene at Lowe's on Milan Road. According to police reports, a Lowe's employee reported hearing "a loud cracking noise" come from the garden center. Another Lowe's employee discovered Gray while assisting a customer shortly after 5 p.m. Lowe's employees immediately notified Perkins police, who found Gray on the ground with his back against a pile of mulch along the fence of the garden center. Gray had a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun in his right hand with his finger on the trigger and one gunshot wound to the head. The fatal injury was apparently self-inflicted, police said.


Police probe Speedy Mart worker's slaying

TX - Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man in the 9400 block of Harwin Saturday night. The victim, Mohammad Awlad Khan, 37, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say two armed Hispanic male suspects entered the Speedy Mart convenience store on Harwin around 9:50 p.m. One suspect forced an employee to the floor while the other went behind the counter with the cashier. The second suspect demanded money, took the bills tray from the cash register and shot at the cashier several times. Both suspects, believed to be in their early twenties, fled on foot.


Worker dies after rolled steel falls on her

NAPOLEON TOWNSHIP, MI - A 46-year-old Jackson woman died after rolled steel fell on her at a Jackson County plant where she was working. The accident at MacSteel happened yesterday morning. The sheriff's department says Tammy Adele Tingler was taken to Foote Hospital's emergency room and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. MacSteel says the company was deeply shocked and saddened by the death. The accident was under investigation.


Midstate briefs: Worker found shot at job site identified

NASHVILLE, TN - A Nashville man found shot to death Friday morning at a custom door and window manufacturer has been identified as Jose Joaquin Sanchez, 46, of Rosemary Lane, Metro police said this afternoon. Sanchez had been employed for 2½ years as a millworker by Xelica Door and Window at 605 Merritt Ave. Police said Sanchez generally arrived for work at 4:45 a.m. and would enter the side door and begin light carpentry duties in an industrial area in the back of the building. The owner entered the front door of the business at 6 a.m. Friday and found Sanchez a short time later, lying on the floor near a side entrance.


Man crushed to death by container at Portsmouth terminal

PORTSMOUTH, VA - A longshoreman was killed Friday afternoon at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal when he was crushed by a truck-size cargo container. Vernon Leroy White, 42, was pronounced dead at 12:07 p.m., Portsmouth Battalion Chief Ronnie Early said. White had been working on the SCI Kiran, which was docked at the terminal, said Joe Harris, a spokesman for the Virginia Port Authority. White worked for Ceres Marine Terminals Inc., a large stevedoring firm, and was a member of the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1248.


Firefighter killed in Suwanee wreck

SUWANEE, GA - Gwinnett County Police are investigating a fatality accident that occurred on Satellite Boulevard at the intersection of Shawnee Industrial Way in Suwanee. Cpl. Darren Moloney says preliminary investigation indicates a motorcycle was traveling north on Satellite Boulevard and intended to go straight through the intersection. A tractor trailer was stopped at the stop sign on Shawnee Industrial Way, and was attempting to turn onto Satellite Boulevard when it collided with the motorcycle. The driver of the tractor trailer, Carlos Arturo Ariasas, 35 of Flowery Branch, was uninjured. The driver of the motorcycle, Michael Allen Newman, 26 of Lawrenceville, was transported to Gwinnett Medical Center in critical condition, where he later passed away as a result of his injuries. Newman was a City of Riverdale fire fighter.


Crush injuries killed Dick's employee

WA - The man killed by a trash compactor behind Dick’s Hamburgers last month died of crushing injuries to his neck and chest, the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s office revealed today. The manner of death is pending, officials said. Drewid McGilvra, 37, was found dead in the compactor by a co-worker during the early morning hours of June 25. He was a fixture at the old-fashioned hamburger restaurant for 17 years. The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the Spokane resident’s death, spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said today. Spokane Police detectives who initially responded determined there was no foul play.


Worker dies in fall from building

AL - A 45-year-old man who fell from the RSA building under construction became the third workplace fatality in south Alabama in the last month, according to federal investigators. Robert Parker Green of Enterprise had arrived at the site at 6:30 a.m. and went up to the rooftop to begin work, according to authorities. Police received a call about 6:45 a.m. of an emergency at the building; Green was pronounced dead at 7 a.m. at the scene. As with all workplace fatalities, Green's death is being investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The inquiry, led by the Alabama Department of Public Safety, could take from two to six months to complete. OSHA is already investigating two other deaths in the 36-county region covered by its Mobile office. Green's death is the 12th workplace fatality that the office has investigated since October, according to the office's director, Ken Atha. Falls, according to Atha, are the leading cause of workplace fatalities and are considered by OSHA to be "needless."


Plano officer dies in on-duty accident

PLANO, TX – Colleagues and friends mourn a good-natured man who loved his job. An on-duty Plano police officer whom colleagues described as a good-natured, hard-working country boy died Saturday morning after being thrown from his motorcycle while pursuing a motorist. Dayle Weston Hardy, 31, was driving north on Independence Parkway at Russell Creek Drive about 11 a.m. when the accident occurred, police said. He was thrown from his motorcycle while trying to avoid another car. Officer Hardy was pronounced dead at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas at 11:56 a.m.


Deaths of two area men point up danger of working on towers

MO - Working on towers for a living is rife with perils. It involves scaling structures hundreds, or a couple of thousand, feet tall; wearing 12 to 18 pounds of equipment; and being exposed to wind, lightning and birds that are not always happy to share their airspace. “It’s certainly one of top two or three dangerous professions in this country,” said Winton Wilcox, president of ComTrain LLC, a tower-climbing and rescue-training company in Monroe, Wis. The profession this week claimed the lives of two area men, who fell from a communications tower south of Eudora, Kan. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office identified them as Jerry Case, 54, of Kansas City, and Kevin Keeling, 33, of Independence. Case owned Structural Inspections Inc. of Blue Springs. Keeling was his employee. The men died about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday while installing broadcast equipment on a 1,000-foot communications tower south of Kansas 10 in Douglas County.


Farm worker dead of lightning strike

GA - Georgia is one of the leading states in the number of lightning deaths in the U.S. A Honduran-born migrant worker died Tuesday from complications linked to being struck by lightning in Tift County, coroner officials said. Pablo Figueroa, 23, was being treated at the Medical Center of Central Georgia after being struck by lightning Saturday while picking melons in rural Tift County. Tift County Coroner Mike Beaumont said Figueroa died Tuesday and that a Macon-based funeral home was handling the transportation of his body back to his native Honduras. “He died from injuries sustained after he was struck by lightning,” Beaumont said. Figueroa, Javier Figueroa, 35, and Bonito Sanchez, age unknown, were all standing under a tree during a thunderstorm Saturday when the bolt of lightning struck the tree.



Fatal misstep for construction worker

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- He falls from roof of a strip mall in Grasmere, dies from head injuries. Like many immigrant workers, Josue Garcia toiled in the construction trade to support family in his native country and claim a small stake in the American dream. But his hopes and labors ended yesterday when Garcia fell to his death from the roof of a Grasmere strip mall. He was 25 -- a young Brooklyn resident whose wife and 6-year-old son still live in his native Guatemala. Garcia was employed by Centro Paz Construction Corp., a company hired by the owner of the shopping complex, 2071 Clove LLC. That investor group includes Leib Puretz, the Brooklyn-based builder who is constructing dozens of condominiums in St. George and has his own ambitious vision of redeveloping the North Shore.


Anderson man killed in crash on Ind. 32

IN - Police continued to investigate an accident Thursday morning at Ind. 32 and Mensa Drive that killed an Anderson man. The crash was so loud that people in an office a quarter-mile away thought something had exploded, and debris filled the road, closing it for the day. Timothy Cooper, 46, was pronounced dead shortly after noon at Wishard Memorial Hospital after his van crossed the center line of Ind. 32 and hit a Mack truck head-on, police said.
Cooper was driving a white van, registered to Insight Communications, east on Ind. 32 about 10:30 a.m. when he swerved into the westbound lanes and collided head-on with a 2000 Mack truck registered to Republic Services of Indiana.


Young deputy shot and killed on the job

KS - 22-year-old Joshua Norris was wearing a bullet-proof vest, but the gunfire hit him from the side. Norris had just become engaged over the Fourth of July holiday. He had only been on the job for less than a year. video


Cañon City man killed in Fort Carson accident

CO - A man who died at a Fort Carson construction site Monday has been identified as 39-year-old Cañon City resident Billy Needham. According to reports, Needham was operating a boom at about 12:50 p.m. Monday when he attempted to place a precast girder on top of precast wall panels when it slid from the top of the wall and collapsed, injuring four workers. The crew was helping to build an office building on Titus Boulevard near Butts Army Airfield Base and several firing ranges with Mortensen Construction as the general contractor. All four workers reportedly were employees of Hardrock Structures, Inc., of Penrose, a subcontractor to Stresscon Corp. “There were eight employees all together,” said Fort Carson public affairs officer Karen Linne. “Four of them were injured. Two were critical in which one later died. The other two received minor injuries.”


Cullman County coal miner killed in "freak accident"

CULLMAN, Ala. -- A coal miner in Cullman County died last week after a non-mining-related accident, authorities said. Eddie Linton, 59, was killed when a pickup truck backed over him on July 2 at the Twin Pines Coal Co. No. 2 surface mine, said Lt. Phillip Lambert with the Cullman County Sheriff's Office in a phone interview Tuesday. "It was just kind of a freak accident really," Lambert said. The No. 2 mine produced 284,000 tons in the first quarter, making it the largest surface operation in the state for the quarter, The Birmingham News reported on its Web site Tuesday. According to Alabama Department of Industrial Relations statistics, the operation employs 68 people. The Jasper-based company also runs two surface mines in Jefferson County.


Truck driver dies when semi crashes on I-74

WILLIAMSFIELD, IL - Roger L. Johnson's cab burst into flames, entrapping him. Police used vehicle registration information found inside a burned-out semi truck cab to identify the driver who died Tuesday afternoon in a fiery crash on Interstate 74. The cause of the single-vehicle accident that killed Roger L. Johnson, 62, of Victoria remains under investigation, Illinois State Police Trooper Tony Halsey said. No other vehicles are believed to have been involved in the accident.


Driver of recycling truck killed in accident.

EDMONDS, WA - The driver of a recycling truck died today after he somehow was run over by the vehicle while working in the 9100 block of 184th Street SW, Edmonds police reported. The man, 29, of Bothell, was found dead in the street at about 8 a.m., and the Eastside Recycling Service Truck he operated crashed into some nearby bushes. There were no witnesses to the accident, but it appeared as if the driver was killed when the truck rolled over him, police Sgt. Don Anderson said. The man is an employee of Allied Waste Disposal Service. His name was being withheld pending notification of family. Police were investigating at the accident scene this morning, but traffic was not hindered, Anderson said.


Worker Killed In Downtown Construction Accident

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A construction worker died Tuesday while he was working on the Portland Mall MAX light rail project. Officials said Jeffrey Helgeson, 42, of Beaverton, was doing concrete demolition work when a piece of equipment came loose and hit him. The incident occurred on Southwest 6th Avenue and Alder Street around 2:15 p.m. Helgeson was working for Tigard-based Williams and Ryan Construction.


Greenville Man Killed In I-70 Construction Zone

BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Ohio - Officials in Butler Township said a construction worker was killed on Interstate 70 Monday morning. The coroner’s office in Montgomery County has identified the worker as Shawn Stebbins, 31, of Greenville. Investigators said Stebbins was working in a construction zone. The accident happened around 9 a.m. east of Interstate 75 in the large construction zone near the I-70/I-75 interchange. Officials said Stebbins worked as a subcontractor for Barrett Paving and was run over by an asphalt truck that backed over him. The Ohio State Patrol said the dump truck, which was backing up to deliver asphalt to the paving equipment, was driven by David E. Wolfe, 40, of Greenville. The accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Ohio Department of Transportation. Investigators said, at this time, no charges are pending.


Federal investigators looking into teen's death on farm

MARLBOROUGH, N.H. --Federal safety investigators are looking into the death of a teen last week on a local farm. Travis DeSimone, 17, of Marlborough, Mass., and three others were working on Corbett Creek Farm in Marlborough, N.H., when he was crushed by a concrete wall. The group had been hired to convert a dairy barn into a dog kennel. DeSimone was on his knees cutting a piece of metal when it gave way, sending a four-by-six-foot section of concrete wall crashing down. Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said inspectors have begun their investigation at the farm. Investigations typically involve site inspections, records checks and interviews with workers and employers.


'Three boys don't have mom', Illegal display misfires, kills Melvindale woman; tragedy underscores risk.

MELVINDALE, NY -- Her eyes red with sorrow, the mother of a woman killed Monday by illegal commercial-grade fireworks had tearful advice for others on Independence Day. "Don't buy them. If you have them, get supervision that's responsible. Don't go through what we are today, and tomorrow and the rest of our lives," said Debbie Hall of Lincoln Park. Waves of shock poured through this Downriver city Tuesday after a grassroots picnic with a $1,000 fireworks show ended in horror -- a grand finale of 25 blastoffs and lights illuminating the motionless body of Danialle Barse, 27, of Taylor. She had bent over to see why the first firework didn't launch. Moments later, it did. The explosive meant to propel 200 to 300 feet into the air struck her head, and a crowd of 30 -- including her three sons and fiance -- could do nothing as the rest of the show cascaded above.


Man Killed Changing Tire On Garden State Parkway

NEW GRETNA, PA - State Police said a man was killed while changing a tire on the Garden State Parkway in Burlington County Tuesday. Authorities said a tire service employee was called to aid a disabled bus on the southbound side of the Parkway in New Gretna. While changing a tire, the bus collapsed onto the victim. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported. The incident remains under investigation.


Worker Killed In Light Rail Construction

PORTLAND, OR - A 42-year old employee of Tigard-based Williams and Ryan Construction died Tuesday in an an apparent construction accident on the Portland Mall MAX light rail project. Reports say the employee was doing underground water relocation work at the intersection of SW 6th and Alder around 2:15 p.m. when a piece of equipment came loose and struck him. Construction on the project was halted for the rest of the day through the swing shift. The victim's name has not been released. The incident is under investigation. Williams & Ryan Construction is based in Tigard, Oregon.


Two men were killed yesterday in eerily similar crane-related construction accidents in Toledo that occurred within five hours of one another.

OH - Tommy Zunk of Fremont and Walter Minarik of Perrysburg were helping other workers dismantle cranes when the accidents occurred at public construction sites - one at the city's wastewater treatment plant and the other at a Toledo Public Schools project site. Mr. Zunk, an 18-year employee of Mosser Construction Co., was working at Toledo's Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant construction site when the rearmost counterweight fell from the crane and crushed him. The weight was not secured to the crane, police said. Mr. Zunk, a truck driver, was pronounced dead at the scene. In the other accident, Mr. Minarik, a subcontractor for Willson Builders Inc., became pinned between counterweights and the rear of a crane as the machine turned, said Roosevelt Gant, project executive of LGB, a local construction management team for the Westfield Elementary School project. Mr. Minarik apparently made an unexpected move along the crane deck, out of the crane operator's view. "Given the tragic circumstances, we may never know," Mr. Gant said. The Toledo area office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating to determine how the fatal accidents occurred.


Construction-site accidents leave 2 dead, Fatalities at separate locations hours apart


Local Restaurant Raises Money For Employee Killed

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Red Lobster is a place for family and friends to come together and enjoy a meal. The restaurant is also a family of workers who are dealing with the loss of one of their own. On Saturday, Rigoberto Martinez was killed when a stack of TNT firework booths he was helping to breakdown and store collapsed on top of him. “He screamed out Leo, when I went to see he was lying on the ground. We tried to lift the 10 to 12 booths that fell… it was so heavy, but eventually we got him out," said his cousin, Leovardo Baustista. Martinez was rushed to Kern Medical Center where he later died. His death was a blow to employees at the Red Lobster where Martinez worked as a dishwasher. view


Truck driver killed by 8-ton weight

TOLEDO, Ohio - A truck driver has been killed in a construction accident at a Toledo waste-water treatment plant. Mosser (MOH'-zhur) Construction says 1 of its drivers was helping other workers take apart a crane when an eight-ton counterweight came off and fell on him. Fifty-1-year-old Tom Zunk of Fremont was pronounced dead at the scene. Mosser says Zunk had been with the company 18 years. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent investigators to the accident site today to interview witnesses and gather evidence.


State investigates death of construction worker today

OR - A 42-year-old construction worker died when a piece of heavy machinery fell on his head near Southwest Sixth Avenue and Alder Street at about 2 p.m. today. Another construction worker reportedly gave the man, who was bleeding profusely, CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene. They rushed the man to Oregon Health & Science University. He was later pronounced dead. The man's name wasn't immediately available. The man was relocating water lines to make way for a 1.2 mile expansion of MAX along Fifth and Sixth avenues. The accident apparently happened when a steel rod on a concrete breaker, which was breaking apart the asphalt in front of Kitchen Kaboodle on Sixth Avenue, came loose and fell on the man's head, said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch. Dozens of spectators and co-workers watched in horror. The man worked for Williams & Ryan, a subcontractor for TriMet.


Construction worker killed at Carson

FORT CARSON, Colo. — A construction worker died and another was critically injured when a concrete girder broke and sent chunks of debris raining down on them, officials said. The victims’ names were not released. They were helping erect an office building on this Army post adjacent to Colorado Springs on Monday when the girder broke. Construction was halted and an investigation was underway Tuesday, said Jim Lesinski, vice president of Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction, the general contractor on the project. The girder was being placed on top of a wall when it slid off and collapsed, Lesinski said. The critically injured worker had been in the bucket of a boom truck raised off the ground and was apparently helping guide the girder into place when it broke, Fort Carson Fire Chief Glen Silloway said. Two other workers suffered minor injuries. All four were employees of Hard Rock Structures Inc., a subcontractor. More than $373 million in construction is underway at Fort Carson to accommodate an additional 10,000 soldiers and their families expected at the post.


Killed worker new to county's plant

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -Investigations into the fatality are under way, a county official says. A worker who was killed at Pinellas County's waste-to-energy plant had been on the job only five days but had received safety training, according to a county official. Veolia Environmental Services, the operator of the plant since May, has released few details of how Anthony Jackson, 35, became entangled in machinery while shoveling ash onto a conveyor Saturday. Bob Hauser, the county's Solid Waste Department director, said the plant manager had informed him of Jackson's service and training. County officials plan to meet today with representatives from Veolia to learn more about the accident.


Utility contractor suffers fatal fall in Carroll County

GHENT, Ky. - A man died Monday after falling at a Kentucky Utilities plant north of Louisville, officials said. William "Frank" Blackmon Jr., 46, of New Castle, died at the scene at a little after 8 a.m. EDT, Kentucky State Police said. Blackmon was employed by Fluor Corp., which was working under contract at the plant in Carroll County. Kentucky Utilities spokesman Chip Keeling said Blackmon fell 50 to 60 feet. Along with state police, the Kentucky Public Service Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating the death, Keeling said. Police said the death appeared to be accidental.


Police identify two men killed in Falmouth crash

NY - Police today identified the two men killed in a six-vehicle pileup in Falmouth as authorities continue investigating the massive crash that also left seven injured. Edward F. Kipp, 48, of Providence, was killed after a sport utility vehicle fleeing security officials at Otis Air National Guard Base slammed into his truck at a busy intersection in Falmouth, according to a report released by the Falmouth Police Department. Kipp, an employee of Rockwell Amusements and Promotions, was pronounced dead at the scene. Michael Warren, 26, of Falmouth, a passenger in the SUV, was ejected from his seat into nearby woods. He was flown to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and died at 4 a.m. Sunday.


Burger King murder investigation continues, victim's identity released

ARVADA - The investigation into the death of a Burger King employee continued Monday afternoon. Police say they were called to the 24-hour fast food restaurant located near 64th Avenue and Ward Road just after 3 a.m. Sunday. Upon arrival they found an employee who had been shot and another who was uninjured. Victim Celia Meza was later pronounced dead at Saint Anthony Central. Arvada Police say Meza was working under the alias Annette Arraici as she did not have legal status in the United States. She is from Mexico. Our partners at the Denver Post say Meza was not scheduled to work Sunday but was filling in for another employee. Her age was not released due to a lack of records. Police say multiple suspects entered the store and demanded money before leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash.


Driver held in crash that killed city cop, Suspect accused of driving drunk

IL - Chicago Police Officer Wayne Smith Jr., killed in a crash over the weekend while riding his motorcycle to pick up a birthday gift for his daughter, never said no when a friend or family member needed a hand with something. On Sunday, his family gathered at his Washington Heights-area home to help his wife, Toria Renee Rivers-Smith, and their three children cope with Smith's death, as a Cook County judge set bail at $300,000 for the driver who authorities say hit the off-duty officer's motorcycle.


Construction worker killed; three injured

CO - The partial collapse of a building under construction at Fort Carson on Monday left one worker dead and three others injured, one of them critically, an Army spokeswoman said. The accident occurred at 12:50 p.m. near Titus Boulevard and Barkeley Avenue at a company operations center being built for the 4th Infantry, which is being transferred to Fort Carson from Fort Hood, Texas. Eight workers were at the construction site.


Investigators not sure what led to worker's death

DAYTON, OH —The preliminary investigation of Monday's fatal construction site accident on Interstate 70 revealed that the audible signals on the dump truck that ran over a construction worker were working and the victim's ears were not covered. But Ohio Highway Patrol investigators haven't determined what caused the truck's driver not to see the victim and what prevented the victim from getting out of the way. The accident occurred about 9:14 a.m. in the eastbound construction zone, just east of I-75, according to Sgt. Douglas Eck. Investigators believe Shawn Stebbins was spray painting markings on the road that was being paved when a dump truck that was moving backward ran over him, Lt. Joseph Gebhart said. listen here


Two die after falling 500 feet or more from tower

MO - Two workers died this morning after falling at least 500 feet from a tower south of Kansas 10 near Eudora. Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern said the men were 500 to 800 feet high, riding in a bucket running along one of the guy wires supporting the 1,000-foot tower. Something caused the bucket to crash to the ground. The sheriff’s office is working with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine what happened. Dispatchers received the 911 call about 9:30 a.m., McGovern said. Paramedics, who were on the scene when deputies arrived, pronounced the victims dead there. The men worked for a company hired by television station KSHB to install new Nextel equipment on the tower as part of a federally-mandated broadcast equipment conversion that is happening throughout the industry, said Craig Allison, the station’s vice president and general manager. Allison said KSHB does not own the tower but uses it as a relay tower and to transmit live shots from Lawrence. “It’s certainly a tragedy, and we’re just heartbroken over the whole thing,” Allison said.


Worker fatally shocked in Perry County

GLENFORD, OH — A 22-year-old Pike Electrical Contractors employee died as a result of shock Monday, according to the Perry County Sheriff’s Office. Christopher Hall of Logan was working with a Pike Electrical crew replacing poles in the area of 13675 Sand Rock Road when he received an accidental shock. The sheriff’s office was notified of the incident after receiving a call from the South Central Power Company, referencing a subject who had sustained a severe electrical shock. Glenford Fire/EMS were also dispatched to the scene. The incident is being investigated by the sheriff’s office, safety officers from South Central Power Company, Pike Electric and investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).


Truck Kills Cochran Man

GA - A Cochran man died Monday when a cement truck backed over him at a roadwork site, according to his employer. Jimmie Hill, age 59, died at the work site on Green Thigpen Road in Montgomery County, according to Steve Raffield, vice president of Dikes Grassing in Cochran. Raffield could not explain how the truck backed over Hill, calling it "a tragic accident." He said investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are at the site today.


Nelson Gardner Dies After Farm Accident, Gardner Lost Consciousness On Skid Loader

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, VA - Dairy pioneer Nelson Gardner died Sunday following an accident on his son’s farm last week. The death comes in the wake of another farm accident on July 2 that claimed the lives of four family members and a hired worker near Briery Branch. Gardner, 76, suffered a spinal injury at the base of his skull on Thursday when he blacked out while operating a skid loader, according to his brother, Harry Gardner. A hired hand found Gardner slumped over on the skid loader on the farm of his son, David Gardner, near Weyers Cave. "[The farm hand] turned it off and the skid loader coasted down the grade and stopped abruptly," Harry Gardner said. "[Nelson’s] head took a tremendous whiplash." He was taken to Rockingham Memorial Hospital where magnetic resonance imaging discovered a contusion, or bruising, on the vertebrae near the base of the skull, according to his brother. Gardner was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital where neurosurgeons concluded that he had sustained irreversible damage to two neck vertebrae and to the spinal cord, Harry Gardner said. "His body deteriorated," he added. "Doctors told the family that it was a very grave situation."Nelson Gardner died Sunday at 6:49 p.m.


Worker Finds Body; Foul Play Suspected, Employee Finds Foreman Dead At Office

FL - An employee discovered the body of a co-worker on Monday morning inside a Winter park business, according to Orange County sheriff's deputies. Calvin Stockford, 49, was found dead at Gator Tree Trimming Service, located at 1635 Minnesota Ave., in Winter Park. According to officials, an employee arrived to work, made the discovery and called police. Orange County homicide detectives said foul play is suspected but would not release any details about Stockford's death. Stockford was a foreman with the company.


Man is crushed by truck at Wise Foods plant

PA - An Indiana County man was crushed by a tractor-trailer full of potatoes at the Wise Foods plant. Rodger Bennett, 63, of Strongstown, was between the rig and the loading dock Thursday afternoon when the truck backed up, crushing him. Bennett died at the scene. Officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating.


Worker dies of injuries sustained in tire fire

GA - A worker has died of injuries he sustained in a fire at a tire recycling fire in Jackson , south of Atlanta . Jeffrey Cyronis, 39, of Social Circle died Wednesday while being treated for burns at the Joseph Still Burn Center in Augusta . Butts County Coroner Ralph Wilson said Cyronis died as a result of burns suffered in the fire. Family and friends said Cyronis' co-worker and best friend, Don Smith, pulled him out of a burning pile of shredded tires on Tuesday. They said Smith rolled Cyronis on the ground to put out the fire and tore the burning clothes off his friend before driving him to a hospital. Cyronis sustained burns over most of his body and was taken to the burn center in Augusta later that day. Smith sustained burns on his hands, was treated at the hospital and released. Cyronis' fiancee, Gina Ditmore of Loganville, told the Rockdale Citizen that Smith is too distraught to talk about his friend's death. The two lived near one another in Social Circle .


Forklift operator killed at Gatlinburg work site

TN - A construction worker was killed Friday while operating a forklift. Travis Joe Williamson, 28, was working at a construction site at Westgate Resort when the forklift he was in overturned and pinned him, police said. Williamson worked for C. Laney & Sons Construction Co. The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating the incident.


Account disputed in death of worker; Labor contractor denies report from UFW organizer.
CA - A Dinuba-based farm labor contractor is disputing accounts that have been given concerning the possible heat-related death of one of its farmworkers. Eladio Hernandez, 54, of Mexico died May 9 after becoming ill while picking peaches at an orchard in the Kettleman Hills area. Yolanda Calvillo and Kenneth Anthony Duerksen, owners of YNT Harvesting, which employed Hernandez, denied a report from United Farm Workers organizer Armando Elenes that Hernandez had fallen off a ladder after becoming ill. Elenes, who was not at the orchard, said his report was based on interviews with workers in the orchard and at a shaded packing area nearby. There were crews from separate farm labor contractors at each location. Duerksen said Hernandez was drinking water, indicated he was ill and "was escorted out of the orchard" to an open, shaded area about 3:30 p.m. where apricots were being packed. Calvillo said he was "walking and talking" and appeared to be in good health. She said a supervisor did not stay with him because "he did not need any attention, he said he was tired and needed to rest." Paramedics were summoned after his condition worsened, she said. Hernandez died in the packing area, and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating whether the death is heat-related.


WORKER DIES FROM INJURIES IN FALL

WI - A construction worker died today from injuries he sustained in an accident Wednesday at a University of Wisconsin building, according to UW police. Officers had responded Wednesday around 1:35 p.m. to Hiram Smith Hall, 1555 Observatory Drive , where an employee of Robinson Brothers Environmental Inc. had fallen from a 10-foot ladder while working on asbestos removal in the building. The 37-year-old worker fell about seven feet and hit the ground with the back of his head. He was taken by ambulance to University Hospital . The man, who was from Milwaukee , died early this morning. His name is being withheld until his relatives have been notified.


Tire wear is cited in police officer's death Irving : Below-standard treads called possible factor for sliding car

TX - Low tire treads may have been a factor in the death of an Irving police officer whose squad car slid out of control last month, a police report indicates. Irving officials have been investigating the accident as well as studying conditions of other cars and maintenance policies. On April 13, Officer Andrew Esparza was driving on a State Highway 183 entry ramp on his way to the scene of an accident as severe weather hit. He crashed into a light pole after his car apparently hydroplaned. Officer Esparza, 26, died later at a hospital. An Irving police report states that the "rear tire treads were below the minimum standard" on the car that Officer Esparza had been driving. The worn tires may have caused the car to slide "out of control during acceleration on the entry ramp," the report said. The report states the minimum standard is 2/32 of an inch. Irving officials stressed that worn tires were just one possible factor in the crash. The police report states that Officer Esparza "failed to control speed on the wet roadway." Irving police spokesman Officer David Tull said that factors included rainfall, the slick roadway, the car's acceleration. "Any time you have a possible factor, it's a cause for concern and a cause for action," Officer Tull said. "A lot of things came together all at one point to interact in this accident, and I don't think you can put it on one particular point." Irving officials are also looking at the light pole, said Laurie Kunke, city spokeswoman. Officials are looking into whether the pole's concrete base was positioned correctly, Ms. Kunke said. Mayor Herbert Gears said he's confident that officials are conducting a thorough investigation. "This was a horrible tragedy, and we want to make sure we do everything we can to prevent a reoccurrence of this tragedy," Mr. Gears said.
Man on crime spree killed Dallas : Authorities say he fatally shot worker in Mesquite robbery

TX - At a busy Old East Dallas parking lot, robber Tommy Glenn Smith made his final stand against police Wednesday morning after authorities say he held up two Mesquite businesses, killed a doughnut shop employee, fled from police and took a woman hostage. Mr. Smith, 39, was shot dead during a confrontation with Mesquite and Dallas police, during which Dallas Senior Cpl. Gerald Melgoza was shot in the wrist. Cpl. Melgoza was treated at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and released. Earlier, Mr. Smith fatally shot Manuel Martinez, 33, during the holdup at the doughnut shop. "This is obviously an extremely violent offender, and the police were placed in a position where they had to deal with the situation," said Dallas Assistant Chief Ron Waldrop, commander of the criminal investigations bureau. "We're extremely fortunate that we didn't have an officer either injured more seriously or killed." Mr. Smith was a career criminal who went to prison in 1990 for possession of a controlled substance and burglary and was released in 1992. He returned to prison in 1994 after a home-invasion robbery where a 16-year-old girl was inside. He was paroled in October 2003. On Wednesday, authorities say, Mr. Smith's crime spree began with the robbery of the doughnut shop in the 2700 block of Motley Drive in Mesquite . Bill Guzy, whose mechanic shop sits across the street from the doughnut shop, said, "I was in here working on a car, and this guy came running out of there hollering" about 10 a.m. He said a young man who works at the doughnut shop came running out with a cellphone and said that a man had robbed the shop and shot Mr. Martinez. "The next thing I knew, the cops were coming down the street and I thought somebody must have robbed the place,"


Sheriff's deputy fatally shot during traffic stop

SOMERS Wis. - A deputy was shot and killed while making a minor traffic stop and a 45-year-old suspect was jailed Thursday, Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said. Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr., an 18-year veteran, stopped a vehicle near the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus just before midnight Wednesday when he was shot once in the face after he and the suspect both got out of their vehicles, Beth said. A Parkside police officer serving as a backup radioed that shots had been fired and Fabiano, 48, was down, Beth said. The campus officer fired at the suspect before he fled into a wooded area, the sheriff said. The shooting happened in an upscale neighborhood on 45th Ave. just south of Highway E. The gunman from Kenosha was caught about 2:30 a.m. as he hid behind some cars about a half mile from the shooting, the sheriff said. The suspect, described as a man with "many aliases," had a weapon. Fabiano, married and the father of a seven-year-old daughter, joined the sheriff's department in 1989 and "served with distinction," Beth said.


Accident victim was a leader, 'Best Friend'; Teachers and students at Northridge High pay tribute to alumna Catrina Coffman, who died Wednesday.

DAYTON , OH - Two years after she graduated, and two days after she died in an industrial accident, Catrina Faye Coffman was remembered Friday as a leader, student and friend at Northridge High School . "Just a phenomenal kid," said principal David Jackson, who was Coffman's math teacher her freshman year. "Really a tragic loss for all of us." Coffman, 21, of Harrison Twp. had been a Pinnacle Airlines employee at Dayton International Airport . She was injured after trying to remove luggage caught in a small elevator Wednesday morning. Coffman died hours later at Miami Valley Hospital . According to the Montgomery County Coroner's Office, Coffman died from asphyxiation due to mechanical chest compression and blunt force injury to the torso. Her death remains under investigation. At Northridge, Coffman was remembered as a cheerleader, honor student and president of the Jobs for Graduates program, run by Miami Valley Youth Career Services. "Catrina was the kind of girl (who) could do anything," said teacher Christie Richards, who knew Catrina and her fiance, Travis Foster, through the JAGS club. "That's why she was a leader. She wasn't one to sit back and wait for things to get done."


Two Henderson County deputies killed, another wounded

PAYNE SPRINGS Texas - A gunman shot and killed two Henderson County sheriff's deputies and wounded another Thursday, hours after the deputies participated in a memorial to honor peace officers slain in the line of duty, authorities said. The deputies were shot while responding to a domestic disturbance near this East Texas town, sheriff's Lt. Pat McWilliams said. Paul Steven Habelt, 63, and Tony Price Ogburn, 61, were killed and Kevin Harris, 40, was injured, McWilliams said. McWilliams said the gunman was shot in the elbow and his side and taken to a hospital. He said the man was in fair condition and awaiting surgery Thursday evening. A woman who was in the home was not injured and was being interviewed by Texas Rangers. The wounded deputy and the gunman were taken to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler . The deputy was out of surgery Thursday night to repair a broken leg, McWilliams said.


Officers killed in line of duty remembered in ceremony

Clarksville , Tennessee - Trina Scott never wants to let her husband be forgotten. On June 7, 2002, Scott's husband, Clarksville Police Officer David Scott, and Officer Yamil Baez-Santiago were killed in a vehicle pursuit of a robbery suspect on the 101st Airborne Division Parkway. David Scott, Santiago and three other CPD officers killed in the line of duty during the department's history were remembered in a ceremony outside the downtown headquarters Tuesday afternoon. The ceremony kicked off the CPD's Police Week, a nationally recognized week that honors officers who gave their lives. It featured speeches from leaders of local law enforcement agencies, commemorating those officers who have sacrificed their lives and all officers who place their lives on the line every day. Mrs. Scott was pleased with the ceremony In whatever way they are honoring him, I am very pleased," Mrs. Scott said.

Santa Ana man arrested in cab driver's death

CALIFORNIA - A Santa Ana man has been arrested in connection with the death of a taxicab driver following Cinco de Mayo celebrations, Fullerton Police Sgt. Linda King said. ShawnKenneth Zuelzke, 25, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $1-million bail, King said. He is scheduled to be arraigned today. The arrest stems from a May 6 incident in the 100 block of North Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton, where three men got into a taxi and allegedly began banging on the windows and doors. When driver Bernard Nwanguma, 48, tried to stop them, Zuelzke allegedly punched him. Nwanguma fell and later died from head injuries.

Attorneys disclose details of Johnson Co. social worker's death

OLATHE Kan. - A suburban Kansas City social worker was almost decapitated in a chain saw attack during a home visit, prosecutors said Tuesday in opening arguments in the trial of the man accused of killing her. Defense attorneys and prosecutors offered new details about the August 2004 death of Teri Lea Zenner, 26, who worked for the Johnson County Mental Health Center. She was killed when she went to Andrew Ellmaker's Overland Park home after telling her husband she was making a short visit to make sure a client was taking his medication. Ellmaker, 20, is charged with first-degree murder in Zenner's death and with aggravated battery for injuries his mother, Sue Ellmaker, suffered while trying to protect Zenner. During opening arguments Tuesday, prosecutor Sarah Geolas described the numerous wounds Zenner suffered, saying the social worker probably would have been decapitated if her hair had not become entangled in the chain saw's blade. Defense attorney Patrick Lewis did not dispute that Ellmaker killed Zenner. Instead, he argued that Ellmaker wasn't planning on killing his social worker and that she was already dead from a stab wound to her throat when Ellmaker retrieved the chain saw from his bedroom. Jurors will be allowed to consider the lesser charge of second-degree murder, which doesn't require that the prosecution proves premeditation.

Rollover kills truck driver from Millard County

FL - A Delta man died Tuesday when his semi truck ran off of Interstate 15. Joe Andrade, 54, died at Fillmore Hospital, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. About 5:30 p.m., Andrade was driving a semi towing a trailer north on I-15. Just north of Scipio, the truck's right front tire blew, causing the truck to run off the right side of the road, UHP said. The truck traveled down and embankment and across a frontage road where it overturned. UHP said Andrade was wearing a seat belt.


A.V. crop duster dies in accident: Local resident made headlines in 1990 after being beaten by deputies

Victorville, Calif. - Dan Herbert Morgan of Apple Valley was killed Sunday after his crop dusting plane crashed into power lines. Morgan took off with a nearly full load of rice seed and fuel Sunday afternoon. He tried to dip under some power lines that caught the tail of his plane and plummeted to the ground, said Yuba County officials. The plane was engulfed in flames by the time the fire department arrived. Morgan, 50, was a longtime Apple Valley resident and made headlines in the early 1990s after being falsely arrested and beaten by San Bernardino Sheriff's deputies. Seven deputies raided Morgan's auto body shop and home on Navajo Road in 1990 looking for a methamphetamine laboratory. The deputies found no lab but forcefully subdued a surprised Morgan after he refused to get down.
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper


Fire captain dies during exercise session
CA - A Redding Fire Department captain died Monday morning during a physical training session, a spokesman said. Capt. Ed Andrews, 53, collapsed at 9:39 a.m. outside the fire station on Buenaventura Boulevard and Canyon Creek Road, Battalion Chief Shane Lauderdale said. Fellow firefighters and emergency personnel tried to revive Andrews, but he was declared dead at Shasta Regional Medical Center. Andrews, who joined the department in 1984, was promoted to captain in 1994. He is survived by a teenage son and a daughter in college, Lauderdale said. Services are pending.

Man charged with killing 2 tellers, wounding 2 during Alabama bank robbery

BIRMINGHAM Ala. - A man was charged with fatally shooting two bank tellers during a robbery and faces the death penalty if convicted, authorities said Tuesday. William Merriweather Jr., 30, is being held without bail in the deaths of Eva Hudson and Sheila Prevo, said prosecutor Ted Mills. Merriweather also was accused of attempted murder in the wounding of two other tellers, Mills said, and kidnapping on suspicion of taking a bank manager hostage during the holdup Monday at a Bessemer branch of Wachovia Corp. The man initially was charged with a third count of capital murder because authorities believed Prevo was pregnant, Mills said. But an examination revealed she was not expecting, and the charge was dropped, he said.


Carnival worker dies in fall from Ferris wheel

JERSEY SHORE Pa. - A carnival worker hanging over the side of a Ferris wheel to work on the ride fell to the ground and died. Thomas Simcox, 28 of Petersburg, Huntingdon County, was working on the ride Monday afternoon when he fell about five feet to the ground and landed on his head, Lycoming County Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. said. "I was told he was changing light bulbs on the Ferris wheel when he fell," Kiessling said. Simcox was an employee of Bartlebaugh Amusement Inc., of State College, setting up for a carnival that opened Monday and runs through Saturday at carnival grounds across from the Citizens Hose Co. Other carnival workers ran across the street to the firehouse to get help, and paramedics rushed Simcox to Jersey Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Kiessling said it was not known if Simcox died from the fall, or suffered a medical problem or possibly an electric shock that caused him to fall. He said an autopsy was scheduled Tuesday.

TV station employee dies after being struck on I-85

SPARTANBURG S.C. - A Greenville television reporter has died after he was struck by a vehicle while covering a wreck here, authorities said. Joe Loy, assignment editor at WHNS Fox 21, died about 25 minutes after he was hit along the shoulder of Interstate 85 near the I-26 exit around 6 p.m. Monday, the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office said. Loy, 58, had been sent to cover the wreck of a lumber truck in the southbound lanes, WHNS reported on its Web site. Loy was standing between a sports utility vehicle owned by the station and a guardrail on the right side of the highway when the SUV was struck by a van, Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles said. The driver of the van, Bocar Phiam of Brooklyn, N.Y., was in the far left lane of I-85 when a red pickup weaving in and out of traffic cut him off, Hiles said.



IOWANS PAY TRIBUTE TO IOWA PEACE OFFICERS KILLED IN LINE OF DUTY

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Department of Public Safety issued the following news release: Friends, family and loved ones of officers killed in the line of duty join members of the Iowa Department of Public Safety and police officers from across the state to honor and remember those killed in the line of duty. As part of National Peace Officer Memorial Week, May 13-19-, 2007, many ceremonies are being held across our nation to pay tribute to those officers that have given the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Governor Chester J. Culver declared the week of May 13-19, 2007, as Peace Officer Memorial Week in Iowa in recognition of the 133 Iowa Peace Officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. In addition, Governor Culver has proclaimed Tuesday, May 15, 2007, as Peace Officer Memorial Day in Iowa.


Man dies while cleaning tanker

SC - A man died while he and a co-worker were cleaning an industrial tanker Saturday in Taylors, the city's fire chief said. David Lee Ingram, 53, of 1104 Norris Drive, Charlotte, N.C., died about noon, said Ken Coppins, a Greenville County deputy coroner. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine how Ingram died. Taylors Fire Chief Bobby Baker said Ingram was wearing a breathing "hood" or apparatus and had on the proper safety lines, but somehow was rendered unconscious. Baker said firefighters would consult with the coroner's office and other agencies before ruling what caused Ingram's death. The chief said OSHA was involved in investigating the accident, Baker said. He said the death occurred on the grounds of CPJ Technologies, 200 Tanner Drive, in Taylors; he described the company as a chemical manufacturer.

Man, 37, dies after falling at plant

RI - A 37-year-old man fell to his death yesterday at the Ocean Spray plant in Middleborough, according to police Officer Ronald Costa. The man appeared to be painting when he tripped on movable stairs and fell 12 feet to a cement floor around 11:30 a.m., police said. He was transported to Morton Hospital in Taunton, where he was pronounced dead. The man was identified by a hospital official as Alcides Dasilva Baptista. Baptista was from Rhode Island, according to Fox 25. The event is under investigation by Massachusetts State Police and the Occupational Safety Councils of America, according to police.

Blast near Coalinga kills welder; Harris Ranch packing shed partially collapses.

CA - One man was killed and a 20,000-square-foot building partially collapsed after an explosion Friday afternoon in a Harris Ranch packing shed at Highway 145 and Colusa Avenue near Coalinga. The blast ripped through the building about 2:45 p.m. while one man was welding inside the structure, said Mike Bowman, a captain with the Fresno County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire. For a reason not immediately determined, the welding torch set off fumes inside the building, causing a flash fire and explosion, he said. The power of the blast lifted the building's second floor and sent it crashing back down onto the structure, Bowman said, leaving a mass of crumpled corrugated metal. The welder was dead when firefighters reached the scene. One other man was operating a forklift inside the building when the explosion occurred, Bowman said.
$5,000 reward offered in slaying; Police have no suspects in killing of tow-truck driver

AL - Ken Ikuesan's family took to the streets Monday to try to help police find his killer. "My uncle was murdered up the street," his 10-year-old nephew Tae Thomas told drivers as they pulled into an apartment complex about a quarter-mile from the place Ikuesan's body was found last week. Tae, his parents and two of Ikuesan's brothers distributed fliers Monday offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of his killer. Police found Olugbenga "Ken" Ikuesan's body Wednesday morning. The 47-year-old Marietta man was found in his red truck marked "Kenny Towing," which was parked on a side street off Peachtree Industrial Boulevard south of Norcross. He had been shot and his wallet was missing, police said. His family and friends had spent hours frantically driving up and down Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and searching for him before police found his truck. "It's a horrific crime," said Dawn Thomas, Ikuesan's sister-in-law, who is serving as the family's spokeswoman. "What bothers us most is that the killer is still out there." Friends last heard from Ikuesan at about 11:15 p.m. May 8, Thomas said. Ikuesan was planning to meet with a friend for a late dinner. While talking on his phone in his truck, he told a friend someone was flagging him down, Thomas said.


CANCER KILLS 9/11 COP, 46

NY - A retired NYPD detective who worked for the elite Emergency Service Unit died early yesterday of pancreatic and lung cancer believed to be related to his work at Ground Zero. Retired Detective Robert Williamson, 45, died at his Orange County home with family around him, said Detectives Endowment Association head Michael Palladino. "Unfortunately, I knew this day was going to come for a long time," Palladino said. "We are just now starting to see the long-term health affects of 9/11 on first responders." Williamson was the third NYPD cop to succumb to cancers believed related to their post-9/11 service.


Policeman killed in crash

NJ - Patrolman William Preslar was killed when the police car he was driving struck a tree after he avoided hitting a deer early Monday morning, was known as a team player who volunteered for the tactical team and for the overnight shift. Preslar, 36, was killed some time after 4 a.m. en route to assist another officer, Police Chief Robert C. Lawson said at a news conference, while nearly two dozen officers stood behind him outside police headquarters, wiping tears. The crash was on Route 528 between Gudz Road and Cross Street, according to a review of the car's dashboard-mounted video camera. The video showed a deer in the roadway and Preslar's evasive action to miss the animal, and the crash, Lawson said. It is unclear if there was gravel in the roadway because of ongoing construction in the area, Lawson said.

Worker dies after chemical spill

CREVE COEUR Mo. - A worker who was seriously injured in a chemical spill last week in suburban St. Louis died Monday. Daniel Gillam, 32, lived in the De Soto area of Jefferson County and was a worker at C&A Metal Finishing Co. Inc. in Sunset Hills, Mo., authorities said. His cause of death was not available from the St. Louis County medical examiner's office or the hospital where he was treated, St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. Two people were seriously hurt and four others examined after a chemical spill about noon Thursday at the metal coating plant. The injuries were the result of a spilled 40-gallon vat containing trichloroethylene, a solvent used in dry-cleaning and degreasing, fire officials have said. The solvent can burn if it comes in contact with the skin and burn the airways and affect the central nervous system if it's inhaled. A phone call to the metal finishing company seeking comment was not answered Monday.


Volunteer Rose Hill firefighter killed

Kansas - A volunteer with the Rose Hill Fire Department was killed late Friday when he lost control of his pickup truck while speeding to the scene of a house fire. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Brandon Daley, 19, was thrown from his pickup after he lost control of the vehicle on Butler Road about 2 ½ miles north of Rose Hill. Rose Hill Fire Chief Dan Armstrong said that when the alarm came in shortly after 11 p.m., the first truck left the fire station carrying five firefighters. He said he assumed that Daley would get to the fire the same way. "We just thought he would get on with one of the next crews out," Armstrong said. "We don't know why he didn't." The fire caused extensive damage to a home at the north edge of Rose Hill, Armstrong said, and firefighters didn't realize what had happened to Daley until they had the fire nearly out. Armstrong said that before Daley became a volunteer in December, he had worked in the same capacity with police and paramedics.

New Hampshire town divided after fatal shooting of police officer

FRANCONIA N.H. - Liko Kenney, described by friends as a free-spirited "Hippie kid," had a history of bad blood with police Cpl. Bruce McKay. So there was the potential for trouble when a traffic stop brought them together again. Within minutes of the Friday stop, both were dead, dividing this town's 924 residents between those who see McKay as a fallen hero and those who considered him a bully with a badge. "It's a tragic situation two men lost and two families devastated," said Steve Heath, owner of the Franconia Village Store. Beyond that, there's little agreement about the tragedy in Franconia, where local Olympian Bode Miller Kenney's cousin is royalty. His image appears on posters, signs and keepsakes all over town. Authorities say McKay, 48, stopped Kenney, 24, for speeding, and Kenney asked to deal with a different officer and drove away.


Coroner identifies trucker who died in fiery wreck
A trucker who died earlier this week when his flat-bed hit a bridge support and burst into flames on Illinois Highway 53 near Elwood was identified Thursday as Samuel Allen Jr., 51, of Joliet, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil said. Because of the fire, authorities had to await a forensic dental examination before identifying Allen, O'Neil said. Allen was declared dead at about noon Tuesday at the crash scene, on Illinois 53 about a mile south of Hoff Road in Jackson Township. Illinois State Police said the truck was owned by J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. The truck slammed into the bridge abutment at about 11 a.m. An autopsy Wednesday determined Allen died of multiple blunt-force trauma.


Nuclear worker Ray dies

OH - Nuclear worker Sam Ray, who lost his larynx in 1994 to a rare form of cancer and spent the rest of his life fighting to help other sick workers, has died. Mr. Ray, 74, of Lucasville was featured in the 2006 Dayton Daily News series "Ohio's Nuclear Legacy." He worked at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon and, after contracting cancer, took up the fight to get federal compensation for other employees who became ill after working at the plant. He testified before Congress, which ultimately approved a program for some sick atomic workers, including those from the Piketon plant. He also took a job with the United Steelworkers, helping employees and survivors with medical claims. Last year, surgeons removed part of Mr. Ray's lung after a recurrence of cancer, which was found in his spine and brain, said his wife, Nina. ? Hear Ray tell his story; Read the series DaytonDaily News.com/piketon


Pool worker is found dead

NY A Riverhead pool maintenance worker was pronounced dead after a homeowner found him face down in a pool at a Sound Drive home in Greenport, Southold police said yesterday.
The worker was identified by Southold Town police as Corey Hodge, 37, of Riverhead.
"He was last seen by the homeowners cleaning the pool about 1 1/2 hours earlier," Southold Det. Edward Grathwohl said. Greenport Fire/Rescue and the town police responded to the homeowner's emergency call at 5:19 p.m. Wednesday. Ambulance workers pulled Hodge from the water and tried to revive him, police said. Hodge was pronounced dead at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, and the Suffolk County medical examiner was called in to assist the investigation, police said.


Truck crushes worker

NY - A 22-YEAR-OLD refuse hauler was killed in Queens last night when his garbage truck rolled backward and crushed him against a trash bin, police said. Juan Morales of Woodside had parked the private sanitation truck behind a car dealership on 38th St. near Northern Blvd. in Astoria when the accident occurred just before 8 p.m., cops said. Police said the truck somehow popped into gear and started on its deadly path. Another man was working with Morales, but he was unhurt. "It's a freak accident," a police source said. "That's the only way to explain it." The truck is owned by Crown Container Co. of Plainview, L.I. The owners couldn't immediately be reached for comment.


SANITATION WORKER KILLED

NY - A worker for a private sanitation company died yesterday in Queens when his garbage truck rolled backwards and pinned him to a trash bin, police said.
Juan Hernandez Morales, 22, of Queens was pronounced dead at the scene at 36th Street and Northern Boulevard about 8 p.m., police said.
The accident is under investigation, police said.

County worker's death probed

ARIZONA - Pima County is investigating the death of a county worker who was killed Friday when he fell off a ladder. John Andrews, 48, worked for the county for a little less than two years. He was an electronics technician, responsible for systems like fire alarms and public address and camera systems. He was atop an 8-foot ladder at the new Dr. Herbert K. Abrams Public Health Center, 3950 S. Country Club Road, working on a fire door that was connected to a fire alarm, when he fell and struck his head around 1 p.m. Friday. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.