Please Take A Moment

Hello,

Please take a moment to sign the Remember the 15 Bill. You may also view the bill and send an email to representative in Congress urging them to take action.

http://www.rememberthe15.com

On Friday, March 23, 2007, families, friends and others will gather on the South Steps of the Texas State Capitol to observe a moment of silence marking the second anniversary of the deadly explosion at the BP Texas City oil refinery.

On that day, we will also call for the passage of the Remember the 15 Bill, designed to change the way oil and chemical companies do business in Texas and nationwide, ensuring that no more lives are needlessly lost.

The Remember the 15 Bill started as Eva’s Bill, named for Eva Rowe, who lost both parents in the Texas City tragedy two years ago. The current bill, if enacted, would strengthen worker safety protections, toughen environmental regulations, and create more powerful government oversight of the petrochemical industry.

We hope that you will join Eva, families of the other deceased and wounded, as well as representatives of elected officials and workers’ unions on March 23rd, beginning at 12:30 P.M., to commemorate the victims of the explosion at Texas City, and to call for passage of the Remember the 15 Bill.

This is a fight about saving lives, saving families, saving the environment and holding big corporations responsible for their actions. This is also a battle for justice – one that we hope you will join.

The State Capitol is at 1100 South Congress, Austin, TX. We will congregate on the South Steps beginning at 12:30 P.M. A media availability to discuss the Remember the 15 Bill will be held shortly afterward, and the moment of silence will be observed beginning at 1:20 P.M.

Thank you for your efforts.


Best Regards
Tammy Miser
USMWF

College of the Mainland efforts for the $2 million BP match

COM Foundation seeks donations for $2 million BP match The College of the Mainland Foundation has launched a drive to raise scholarship funds between now and June 30 to qualify for a direct match from BP. BP has committed up to $2 million in matching funds for a memorial scholarship established by Eva Rowe in her settlement with BP. All funds to be matched must be raised by June 30, 2007.


"I am truly inspired by this young woman, Eva Rowe, who has given so much to the Galveston County community," said Katherine Rodriguez, one of the COM Foundation directors who is chairing the Memorial Scholarship Committee. "Our community is in need of healing and this is a perfect way to ensure education for our children for many years to come. These scholarships are available to everyone and every major. This is a way to help support our own community and helps make something truly great come from something so tragic."


Monica O'Neal, executive director of the COM Foundation, believes the community will get behind this memorial scholarship effort. "Besides the satisfaction of seeing your donation matched by BP, everyone who gives will know that these memorial scholarships will help hundreds more achieve their dreams," O'Neal said.

The COM Foundation is planning a raffle and barbecue sandwich lunch in early May. Other fundraising efforts are planned throughout the community between now and June 30. Anyone wishing to donate money for this scholarship drive can contact the COM Foundation Office at 16 Appomattox Square at Amburn Road Texas City, TX 77590 or call 409-938-1211 or 888-258-8859, Ext. 508.

BP Hearing

Hearing on "The BP-Texas City Disaster and Worker Safety," scheduled Thursday, 3/22/07 at 10:00 a.m. in room 2175 Rayburn H.O.B.
To watch live video If you miss it watch it in the archives.

Witnesses include:

• Admiral Frank L “Skip” Bowman - President and CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute; Member, BP U.S. Refineries Independent Review Panel
• Carolyn W. Merritt - Chair, U.S. Chemical Safety Board
• Kim Nibarger - Health and Safety Specialist, United Steelworkers of America
• Eva Rowe - Parents were killed in Texas City explosion

Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

A partial list of workplace death in the United States over the past few weeks.

OSHA looks at death after fall at rig site

WILLISTON, ND - Federal officials are investigating the death of a man who fell at an oil rig site in eastern Montana. Clinton Mosby, 20, of Williston, died Feb. 16. He was at a rig site about 40 miles west of Sidney, said Richland County (Mont.) Coroner Marvin Johnson. A preliminary investigation indicated steps leading from a tank battery up to a rig floor gave way, and that Mosby fell at least 8 feet. Other workers tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the Sidney Health Center.


County worker falls off ladder, hits head, dies

Marana, AZ - A Pima County maintenance worker fell from an 8-foot ladder Friday, struck his head and died, a county spokesman said Monday. John Andrews, 48, of Marana fell from the top of the ladder while working on the fire alarm system at the new Dr. Herbert K. Abrams Public Health Center, 3950 S. Country Club Road, said Mike. Tuinstra, county facilities management director. Andrews was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, Tuinstra said. Tuinstra said he didn't know what caused Andrews to fall, adding that the county's Risk Management Department and the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration are investigating the death. He had no estimate of how long the OSHA investigation, normal procedure in on-the-job deaths, will take.


Worker dies at Fayetteville concrete plant

Fayetteville, NC - Buried up to his neck, Barry Johnson of Fayetteville may have lived as long as an hour after tons of sand fell on him in an industrial hopper Tuesday. Firefighters gave Johnson oxygen and tried to dig him out, but the mix of sand and rock in the hopper was too much and he died, said Battalion Commander Richard Bradshaw. Johnson didn’t have enough strength to expand his chest against the weight of the material crushing his body, Bradshaw said. “We did the best we could, but the odds were against us,” Bradshaw said. The accident occurred at the S&W Ready Mix concrete plant on South Reilly Road. It is unclear what time Johnson died; Bradshaw estimated it was less than an hour after the accident.


Man killed in shooting

GLOUCESTER, VA -- As he always does, Ted Anthony "Andy" Brown stopped by East Coast gas station in Gloucester Monday morning to pick up two newspapers - The New York Times and the Daily Press - and a cup of coffee and cigarettes. In less than an hour Brown would be dead, the victim of a shooting outside of the Gloucester Toyota office where he worked as a salesman.


New Jersey Officer Dies After High-Speed Chase

Newark, NJ - A decorated Newark police sergeant was killed early yesterday when his car flipped over while he was pursuing another police vehicle, which had been commandeered by its handcuffed occupant. Sgt. Tommaso Popolizio, 33, was taken to University Hospital with massive head injuries from the crash, which occurred around 4 a.m. on Doremus Avenue. He was pronounced dead at 5:55 a.m., a hospital spokesman said. The fleeing suspect was captured soon after the crash.


Officer dies after accident

Clayton, GA - A Clayton County police officer died Sunday afternoon, four days after he was critically injured while escorting a funeral procession off-duty. Officer Shawn Newlin, 25, never recovered from a coma following the wreck on Tara Boulevard near Sherwood Drive on Wednesday afternoon. He rear-ended a car with his motorcycle, was thrown off and landed on his head. "It just makes you realize how fragile life is," Clayton police Maj. Tim Robinson said Sunday. Newlin joined the Clayton Police Department in June, and had been working as a patrolman.


Police Look For Belmont Store Shooter

PORTLAND, OR- Police questioned witnesses and looked for clues Monday in the brutal shooting of a Southeast Portland fill-in store clerk. It happened at 3:45 p.m. inside the Belmont Market at Southeast 34th and Belmont streets. Chester Yeom was inside working when a man came into the store and apparently tried to rob it. The gunman opened fire and hit him in the neck. Yeom does not usually work in the store, but was helping the store owner out for a couple hours.


One killed when jacked-up house falls

KENNER, La. — A house being raised in this New Orleans suburb fell back Sunday, trapping several workers underneath, including one who later died, police said. The brick house was in an area hit by flooding following Hurricane Katrina where a large number of houses are being raised, police said. Seven workers were under the house as jacks were being used to push the house several feet off the ground, police said. The weight shifted, causing the structure to fall back, said Capt. James Gallagher, a Kenner police spokesman. Six workers managed to free themselves, including one who later lost consciousness and was hospitalized in critical condition, Gallagher said. Rescuers cut piling to get to another worker who later died at a hospital, Gallagher said. He was identified as Alejandro Gonzalez, 25, a citizen of Mexico, Gallagher said.


Worker Killed Building Lexington Home

Lexington, KY - A 31-year-old Lexington man died instantly early Monday morning at a construction site on the city's southside. 27 NEWSFIRST was the only crew on the scene as investigators arrived to begin looking for the cause. Witnesses say the victim, 32 year old Everardo Tellez-Gervacio, was working to guide a Caterpiller that was carrying scaffolding when the wooden bars fell off, striking a wall and falling on top of him. The Fayette County coroner says Gervacio died instantly of a massive head injury. Two other workers injured on the scene were taken to the hospital for treatment but the coroner says those workers were not badly injured. Gervacio leaves behind a fiancee and a 20-month old baby girl.


Man dies in forklift accident

WEST POINT, MS - A Columbus man died Friday in West Point from injuries he suffered while operating a forklift at work. Clay County coroner Alvin Carter Jr. confirmed Gerry Saulsberry, 43, of 1218 15th St. S. in Columbus, died at 2:09 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Old White Road and Churchill Road in West Point. “He was operating a forklift, loading cross ties onto a rail car,” Carter said. “It appeared he was preparing to move the rail cars when he became pinned between a rail car and the forklift.”


Two killed in fiery crash on I-70 in Maryland

FREDERICK, Md. - Two people died in a fiery, rush-hour crash on Interstate 70 Monday when a pickup truck crossed the median and hit a tractor-trailer, rupturing the larger vehicle's fuel tank, state police said. The big rig's cab was crushed by a 40,000-pound steel coil that broke loose from the trailer and rolled forward, Sgt. Arthur Betts said. Drivers of both vehicles were killed, Betts said. He said the tractor-trailer was owned by PI&I Motor Express of Masury, Ohio. The crash occurred about three miles west of Frederick near Hollow Road, Betts said. The highway was closed in both directions for almost an hour after the 8:20 a.m. crash, Betts said. It wasn't fully open until nearly noon, he said.


1 killed, dozens escape explosion at warehouse

Houston, TX - Warehouse blast in east Houston claims man set to end his job today for new career An explosion at a southeast Houston warehouse Thursday killed a man whose last day on the job would have been today. The man died in the explosion at American Elastomer Products Co., a rubber manufacturing company in the 5300 block of Polk, about 11:40 a.m. Four dozen others who work there escaped without injury. Today, local authorities and officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will continue their investigation into the accident, which blew out walls and roof portions of the warehouse and rocked the surrounding Central City Industrial Park business complex. The metal structure of the building remained intact. A preliminary investigation showed the blast occurred after a piece of equipment, a high-pressure vessel used for the manufacturing of rubber, failed, assistant Houston Fire Chief Omero Longoria said. "How close he was to it or what the circumstances were, I'm not sure at this time," he said Thursday afternoon. By late Thursday, officials had not released the man's identity.


Construction worker dies at Jardine

Winchester, KS - One construction worker died and another was injured following an accident Wednesday at the Jardine Apartment Complex. Steven Darveaux of Winchester, Kan., died after falling from a forklift box. The box fell on top of him after he fell out, said Cheryl May, assistant vice president for university relations. The other man in the box, Timothy Hanes, Meriden, Kan., was injured. Mercy Regional Health Center declined to comment on his treatment or current status. May said the accident occurred between 5 and 5:15 p.m. Riley County Fire Department, K-State Police and Emergency Medical Services all responded to the accident.


Man dies in trench collapse in Southwest Seattle

SEATTLE, WA - A man was killed Friday afternoon when he was crushed by three large concrete blocks at a construction site. The call came into firefighters around 3:15 that a trench had collapsed between two homes in the 9400 block of 13th Avenue Southwest in the White Center area of Seattle. Fire officials say construction crews had finished installing a drainage pipe between the two homes. The workers had erected a wall of three large concrete blocks called ecology blocks that are used to prevent trench collapses. Each one weighs about 3,000 pounds.


Man crushed by dump truck

Atlanta, GA - A construction worker was killed Thursday afternoon at the Cherokee County Airport when he was crushed by a dump truck. Sgt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s department said the man was standing at the top of a ridge and was not in the driver’s sight-line. Baker said a worker standing next to the man jumped out of the way and was grazed by the truck but not seriously injured. The dead man was not identified pending the notification of his family.


A 31-year-old construction worker died after he fell off of the roof of a town house in Chester

County, Pa. - Jose Marcio Antunes Lomeu, of Riverside, N.J., was working on sheathing a roof in the 100 block of Stauffer Road in Atglen when he lost his balance, for an unknown reason, and fell from the roof about 1 p.m. , police said. Co-workers tried to resuscitate Lomeu as well as rescuers from Goodwill Ambulance, police said. Lomeu was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called to the scene and assisted Pennsylvania State Police in the investigation.


Unions Critical Of A Tulsa Plant

Tulsa, OK - Two labor unions are speaking out about the death of a Tulsa laundry worker. Eleazar Torres-Gomez died Tuesday when he was dragged inside an industrial dryer at the Cintas Corporation plant in Tulsa. Cintas is a uniform laundry service. The "Unite Here!" and Teamsters unions claim Cintas does not do enough to protect its workers company wide and has been cited by the Occupational, Safety and Health Administration or OSHA more than 170 times for unsafe working conditions. The News On 6 contacted Cintas on Wednesday and they said their safety record is 30% better than similar sized facilities in the industry. Cintas officials say their Tulsa plant has some of the highest scores on safety compliance requirements.


Government worker gunned down during rush hour

St. Lucia, WI - St Lucia recorded its fifth homicide for 2007 on Tuesday when Carlos Flavien, age 29, was gunned down. Like most people Flavien was on his way to work when at approximately 8:30 he was shot. At the time Flavien was on High Street near Elma’s wholesale and retail. A lone gunman creeped upon him and shot him three times. Reports indicate that one bullet hit him in the chest, another in the neck and a third hit him in the head.


Man Dies At Magnolia Lumber Plant

AR - A forklift operator at a Magnolia lumber company is dead after he was pinned between stacks of wood. Columbia County Coroner Randy Reed said 50-year-old Bartolo B. Abarca was lowering a stack of lumber early Tuesday when the forklift he was operating tipped over. Abarca was trapped between the load of lumber on his forklift and a stack of lumber on the ground at the Hixson Lumber Company south of town. Co-workers discovered the accident scene and Abarca's body just before 4:30 Tuesday morning. He had died at the scene. Walter Hixson, who owns the lumber company, said Abarca was a great employee and a good guy, and others at the company were deeply saddened.


Restaurant employee killed in robbery

Snellville, GA - A teenage restaurant employee was shot dead during a robbery in the Snellville area Tuesday night. By the time Gwinnett police responded to a call of an armed robbery in progress at Mr. Egg Roll in the 3300 block of Centerville Highway, the 18-year-old employee had already been shot. The two robbers, both men in their 20s, ran away from the restaurant with an undisclosed sum of money following the robbery about 9 p.m., said Gwinnett police Cpl. Darren Moloney. The victim’s name was withheld until his relatives were informed.


Factory accident kills father of eight

Nampa, ID - A Caldwell man died earlier this week in an accident at a Nampa cement factory. Two cranes on tracks collided at Amcor about 11 a.m. Monday, pinning the victim. The accident killed Rodney Bernal of Caldwell. He leaves behind a wife and eight children. “We have started an investigation,” said Occupational Safety and Health Administration Idaho Director Jerry Hockett, adding that the federal workplace-safety agency will look at Amcor’s training, equipment and procedures. Hockett said if there are violations of safety standards, OSHA could propose a citation. Nampa Fire Deputy Chief Doug Strosnider confirmed an engine responded to the fatality accident at Amcor, but had no further details. Amcor is situated between the Amalgamated Sugar Co. plant and the Treasure Valley Marketplace north of Nampa.Amcor forms concrete for road and other industrial purposes.


Tow-truck driver killed in accident

Loveland, CO - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating an industrial accident in Loveland that killed a 44-year- old tow truck driver Thursday. Rae Bontz, spokesman for the Loveland Police Department, said the accident happened about 10 a.m. when the tow truck driver from JC Service and the owner of ACA Transportation were attempting to load a skid loader onto a flatbed tow truck. The truck bed was inclined as the tow truck driver, whose name is being withheld, guided the loader onto the bed. When the tow driver crawled underneath the loader's bucket to secure the loader with chains, the bucket dropped, striking the victim on the head and killing him.


Leipsic farmer killed by grain bin auger

LEIPSIC, Ohio — A 64-year-old farmer was found dead yesterday in one of his grain bins, entangled in an auger. His wife found him when she went to get him for lunch, authorities said. Tom Kreinbrink was pronounced dead at his farm on State Rt. 65 in Putnam County’s Van Buren Township, about a mile south of Leipsic, where authorities were called just before 1 p.m. Mr. Kreinbrink was working alone inside the large bin where a sweep auger was operating. The auger, anchored in the center of the bin, automatically circles the floor, carrying the last of the corn to an external receptacle, authorities said. Mr. Kreinbrink, who was shoveling corn that the auger missed, got his pant leg caught in the auger, which then swept him around the bin. When he was found, the auger was still turned on but had quit moving, authorities said.


San Bernardino father shot to death at work

RIALTO, CA - The execution-style shooting of a man as he approached his job at a Rialto storage center early Thursday has left co-workers shaken, family puzzled and police combing for clues. After his wife dropped him off across the street, Richard Martin Contreras was walking to the door of the Mobile Mini Storage Systems plant, where he worked as a welder, for a 7 a.m. shift, said Rialto police Lt. Reinhard Burkholder. It was 6:51 a.m. when a man lying in wait for Contreras walked up from behind -- no more than 20 feet from the plant's entrance -- and shot him in the head in the presence of several co-workers, Burkholder said. "There was no argument or no words spoken," Burkholder said. "It appears the suspect knew exactly who he was going after." As the 35-year-old San Bernardino resident fell to the ground, his assailant shot him one more time, then calmly left the scene in a light brown or tan Saturn-type car, Burkholder said.


Houston blast kills one, shakes neighborhood

Houston, TX - One man died in an explosion that heavily damaged American Elastomer Products Co. in southeast Houston and rocked a surrounding industrial park, officials said. The blast occurred at 5301 Polk around 11:30 a.m. and rattled the neighborhood for blocks around, officials said. A total of 44 other people escaped without injury. "We have all other employees accounted for,'' assistant Houston Fire Chief Omero Longoria. Walls and roof portions of the warehouse blew out after a vat of material used in a rubber manufacturing process exploded, Longoria said. The name of the man who died was not released.


Cuming County, NE Farmer Killed By Cow

NE - A northeast Nebraska man has died... after being attacked by a cow on his Cuming County farm. Authorities say the cow attacked 47-year-old Lowell Horst while he was in the pen with the animal, Friday afternoon. It pinned him in the corner, where he couldn't get away. Horst's 8-year-old son saw the whole thing... and deputies say the boy actually drove the family pick-up three miles-- to his uncle's house-- to get help. When sheriff's deputies arrived, Horst was aleady dead.


Train strikes tractor, leaves farmer dead

VARNER, NE — A farmer whose John Deere tractor was caught on railroad tracks a mile and one-half south of Varner was struck by a northbound Union Pacific freight train and killed about 2:40 p.m. Friday. Lincoln County Coroner Jimmy Hawkins pronounced the man dead at the scene but declined to release his name until next of kin are notified. He was believed to be a Lincoln County farmer. “I saw the train coming and the tractor sitting on the tracks,” said David Davis of Star City, who witnessed the collision as he was driving on U.S. 65, which runs parallel to the railroad track. “I heard what sounded like an explosion and I saw the wheels come flying off the tractor. Then I called 911.”


Farmer caught in mixer bled to death

JOHNSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - A farmer who became trapped in a feed mixer broke his left leg and pelvis and bled to death, an autopsy released Saturday concluded. Trent Boudinot, 42, was doing maintenance work on the machine Friday morning when he became caught in the mixer's auger, a rotating, screw-like device, authorities said. An autopsy revealed that Boudinot's death was caused by the severing of femoral arteries where his legs met his pelvis, said Mickey Lymon, an investigator with the Licking County coroner's office.


Transit worker found fatally shot

New York, NY - A New York City Transit security guard was fatally shot while waiting to catch a bus on his way home from work in Brooklyn early Sunday, authorities said. James Plocica, 37, of East 64th Street in Mill Basin, was found by officers responding to a call of shots fired at 1 a.m. Authorities said he was lying unconscious at 2006 Ralph Ave. It did not appear that his wallet or other belongings were stolen, police said. Plocica, who transit officials said worked as an unarmed security guard at a Brooklyn subway yard, was shot once in the chest, police said. He was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital Center, police said.


1 Dead In Kern Oil Well Explosion

McKittrick, CA - A worker was killed this morning in an oil well accident in Western Kern County. Captain Doug Johnston of the Kern County Fire Department says the worker backed his truck into a well which immediately exploded and burned. The explosion happened near Reward Road and Franco Western Road, about five miles north of the town of McKittrick.


Batavia man dies in Pike County train accident

PIKETON, OH – A Batavia man was killed Monday when he was struck by a train in southern Pike County. The man’s name and age were not immediately known, but Sheriff Larry Travis said the man was working on a piece of equipment near a set of railroad tracks just south of the Ohio Candle Co. when the accident occurred. The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. The man was struck by a northbound Norfolk and Southern train and pronounced dead at the scene. The body was taken to Hamilton County for an autopsy.


Worker killed in blast at Northeast Philadelphia restaurant

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- A worker servicing a machine at a Northeast Philadelphia restaurant was killed when the unit exploded Tuesday, a fire department spokesman said. The man was working on the compressor of an ice cream machine in the food preparation area of the Friendly's restaurant at the time of the blast, which was reported at 2:33 p.m., Executive Chief Daniel Williams said. No one else was injured, he said. A fire marshal and a hazardous materials unit were sent to the scene to make sure conditions were safe, Williams said. The cause of the blast is under investigation.


First Miner Killed This Year In Kentucky

PIKEVILLE, Ky. - Officials say a surface miner crushed by heavy equipment has become the first miner killed in Kentucky for 2007. Charles Griffith, 48, of Pikeville was operating an excavator yesterday at a mine in the Steele community in eastern Pike County, near the Kentucky-Virginia line, when the machine overturned, killing him. Chuck Wolfe of the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet says Griffith was working at Double E. Augering Mine Number three when the accident happened about 4:10 p.m.


Man killed in Koppel Steel accident

New Beaver, PA - A New Beaver Borough man was killed Tuesday in an industrial accident at the IPSCO Koppel Tubular Steel plant. Ronald W. Hackett, 45, was at work on a tube straightening machine about 8 a.m. Samuel A. Teolis, a deputy Lawrence County coroner, said the machine was very large and Hackett became caught in it. Medic Rescue workers transported him to Ellwood City Hospital, where Dr. David Simon pronounced him dead at 9:07 a.m


Miramar utility worker dies after being struck by backhoe

MIRAMAR, FL – A 53-year-old city utility worker was killed on Wednesday when he was struck by a construction backhoe, a police spokesman said. The death occurred around 10:30 a.m. while city workers replaced a water pipe in front of a home on the 6100 block of Southwest 37 Street, police spokesman Bill Robertson said. Robertson said a backhoe operator, the dead man's working partner, was operating the machine that struck him. Details were not immediately available.


Death on the highway, Two truckers killed in mystery crash

Tuxedo, NY — One truck driver was crushed under the wheels of his own trailer. The second driver's truck was engulfed in flames. The crash that killed two tractor-trailer drivers yesterday morning shut down the northbound lanes of the New York State Thruway for nearly nine hours. And officials might never know what went wrong. "There were no witnesses, and the two people involved are dead," said Ricky Peets, a state police investigator assigned to the Thruway. The drivers, both employed by New England Motor Freight, died at the scene of the 2:30 a.m. crash in the hamlet of Arden. The stage was set when Gary Akehurst, 58, of Fallston, Md., parked his tractor-trailer on the right shoulder of the three-lane Thruway, about 200 feet before the Arden Station Road overpass. Why Akehurst stopped is unclear. He did not report any problems to his dispatcher and nothing was noted in his log, Peets said. Akehurst was out of the cab and somewhere between his rig and the guardrail when his trailer was struck by another New England Motor Freight truck, driven by John Johnson III.


Construction site victim identified

SAN DIEGO, CA – A man who was directing a dump truck as it was backing up at a Rancho Bernardo construction site died Tuesday after the vehicle ran over him, officials said. The county Medical Examiner's Office identified the dead man as Jesus Saiz Leon, 63, of San Diego. Leon was directing the truck as it was about to drop off a load of asphalt when the driver lost sight of Leon and then felt the truck roll over something, a medical examiner's investigator said. The truck, owned by Superior Ready Mix, had been backing up at Pomerado Road and Grandee Place about 10:30 a.m., said San Diego police spokesman Gary Hassen.


Man killed in landfill accident

BUFORD, GA — A 63-year-old man was killed Tuesday when heavy equipment fell on him at a local landfill, police said. Cpl. Valerie Southard, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Police Department, said the man did not work at the Richland Creek Landfill but was an employee of another company doing work there. Southard declined to name the company or identify the man until his next of kin had been notified. Lt. Thomas Rutledge, spokesman for the Gwinnett County Fire Department, said workers were loading a Caterpillar-836 compactor tractor onto a trailer when the man was crushed between the two pieces of equipment just before 3:30 p.m.


Man ignited gasoline in elevator to kill self, ex-girlfriend

LYNN, Mass. -- Raymond Echavarria dragged his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his two young children, into an elevator in the office building where she worked. He then used a lighter to ignite fumes from a can of gasoline, killing the couple in a fiery explosion. Authorities found the two badly burned bodies Wednesday inside the elevator, along with the 2-gallon fuel container, the lighter and a knife. Investigators were treating the slaying as a murder-suicide. The district attorney's office said Echavarria, 23, forced Xiomara Robles, 21, into the elevator shortly after she returned from a lunch break to the office building in the suburb of Lynn. Moments later, office workers heard an explosion inside the elevator, which became engulfed in flames.


Construction Worker Falls to His Death

Honolulu, HI -A 52-year old construction worker was killed on the job Wednesday after falling from a 46th-floor lanai. It happened at the Moana Pacific Condo project on Kapiolani Blvd. between Pensacola and Piikoi streets. The worker is Frank Montayre of Honolulu, an employee for Permasteelisa, which is a subcontractor for the project. A detective on the scene says Montayre was caulking the lanai when he fell and wasn't tied to a safety line. No one was with Montayre before he fell. Detectives are investigating whether he might have tripped and then gone over the railing.


Police prevented more bloodshed in shootout

New York, NY - A gunman claimed the lives of three men before he was killed by authorities in Manhattan late Wednesday, police say. David Garvin was ready to die in cold blood -- and to take others with him. A chilling surveillance videotape released by police Thursday shows the dishonorably discharged Marine confronting, pursuing and shooting two auxiliary police officers on Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village on Wednesday night "He was heavily armed and prepared to kill at will," a grim-faced Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said at an afternoon news conference Thursday, less than 24 hours after Garvin, 42, in quick succession killed pizzeria worker Alfred Romero and auxiliary officers Nicholas Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik.


Worker Killed In Fall At Fort Worth Hospital

FORT WORTH, TX - Investigators are trying to determine if a man's frantic effort to avoid lightning, during Tuesday afternoon's severe weather, may have led to his death. Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration spent the day at John Peter Smith Hospital, where a masonry worker fell to his death. Company officials call it a freak accident. Just before Tuesday's storm hit Tarrant County, the contractor at the new JPS patient tower saw lightning in the distance. According to Lucia Construction Inc. subcontractor Troy Garrett, "The order was given to come off the scaffolding." The accident happened as employees attempted to get out of the weather. "Charles Cannon stumbled off the scaffold even with all the safety features in place," Garrett said.


3 government employees killed in crash

FOLKSTON, GA - Three Georgia Department of Human Resources employees were killed instantly Wednesday morning when the vehicle they were in slammed into the back of a logging truck at a Folkston intersection. Witnesses said they saw a white GMC Safari van traveling about 60 mph ram into the back of a log truck stopped at the intersection of Georgia 252 and Indian Trail, about one-quarter of a mile south of Charlton County High School. The speed limit at the intersection is 35 mph. Georgia State Patrol trooper J.F. Taylor said the three fatalities are the van's driver, Corientha Ann Jones, 59, of Blackshear, and Nahunta residents Elizabeth Jones, 23, and Jimmy Herrin, 62. A fourth occupant of the van, John Robinson, 26, of Nahunta, was pulled from the van by Camden County Fire Rescue workers, who used cutting tools to remove the roof from the Safari. The driver of the log truck owned by Hutchinson Trucking, based in Meridian, was identified as John Phillip Dick, 24, of Darien. Both Robinson and Dick were taken to Shands Jacksonville, investigators said.


Two workers killed by fumes at Port Manatee

Port Manatee, Florida - Manatee County Fire Rescue says two ship workers were killed when fumes invaded the hull where they were working at Port Manatee. The two men, one in his 20's and the other in his 30's, were overcome by the fumes as they worked below deck. Investigators say the fumes could be nitrogen. Rescue workers say other crew members were alerted by an alarm, went below to check and found the men unconscious. They brought the stricken men to the deck, where they were met by Manatee Fire Rescue crews. Paramedics tried in vain to revive the men. The Coast Guard Marine Safety Office will head the investigation into the deaths. Investigators do not believe the men are U.S. citizens. The "Sol Do Brasil" is registered in Liberia and is owned by a German shipping company. There were a total of 19 crew members on board. The crew was transporting orange juice.


Man crushed to death by semi

FOND DU LAC - A 53-year-old Ripon man is dead after a semi trailer he was repairing fell on him at a Fond du Lac business this morning. The incident occurred at E & G Repair, N5756 U.S. 151, about 9:15 a.m., said Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Dean Will. A 36-year-old Fond du Lac man also was injured and taken to St. Agnes Hospital where he is expected to be treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said. The names of the individuals are not being released at this time pending notification of their families, Will said.


Road worker killed in accident on highway

TULSA, Okla. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a woman could face a criminal charge after her vehicle hit and killed a road worker as he was patching potholes on U-S 75 in Tulsa. Troopers allege the woman exhibited physical signs of drug use and marijuana was found in her vehicle. Trooper Ricky Humdy says the patrol could seek a negligent homicide count against her. The patrol hasn't identified the victim, but he's a Tulsan in his 20s. Troopers say the man died when the car swerved from the eastbound lanes of the highway onto the right shoulder where he and two others were working.


Dispute Spurred Las Colinas Shooting

IRVING, TX -- Police on Friday arrested a worker after he allegedly shot and killed a co-worker during an argument at a Las Colinas mid-rise office building. The suspect, whose identity was pending, was taken into custody without incident following the shooting, which occurred about 10 a.m. at the Las Colinas Towers. The building houses several businesses, and was placed on lockdown while police investigated the incident. A sign outside indicates that General Motors workers share part of the space. No other injuries were reported.


Construction worker dead of head injury after fall from beam

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Police, paramedics and firefighters tried desperately to save the life of a 28-year-old Union County man who later died after a fall at a construction site Thursday afternoon. Jeffrey Sack, 28, of Winfield Park was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune after suffering a fatal head injury in a fall at a construction site on Route 37, Chief Michael G. Mastronardy said. Sack had been walking on a steel beam when he fell and landed on a cement surface several stories down, Mastronardy said.


Construction Worker Dies After 30-Foot Fall

Bridgeport, CT - A 28-year-old construction worker was pronounced dead at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport on Saturday after he fell off the roof of a home that is under construction in the Holland Hill section of town. According to both the Police and Fire departments, officers and firefighters responded to a call at approximately 10:15 a.m. at 25 Country Road where a construction worker with AD Builders of Albany, N.Y., had apparently fallen off of a two-story roof and was in need of medical attention. When officials arrived on scene they found Thomas Canfield of New York in the basement of the home lying in the fetal position on his right side, bleeding from his ear, police said.


Eastchester police officer from Mahopac collapses, dies on job

EASTCHESTER, NY - A 54-year-old, veteran Eastchester police patrol officer died this morning of an apparent heart attack, just before completing his overnight shift, police said. Joseph DePippo, a married father of two who lived in Mahopac, was rushed to Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival, said Eastchester police Chief Timothy Bonci. "I've been at the hospital all morning," Bonci said at 12:45 p.m. and noted: "The hospital was full of officers. Obviously, that reflects on how people felt about him. He was a really good guy, not a bad thing to say about him. He was a good officer, always reliable. He took very little sick time." DePippo worked as a patrol officer and had been with the department for 31 years. He was born and raised in Eastchester and moved to Mahopac after getting married, Bonci said.


Man Killed After Truck Driver Allegedly Jumps From Cab

Searcy, AR - If you commute into the state's capital city from the Searcy area, you ran into quite a roadblock Friday morning. Highway 67-167 was closed for hours after two tractor-trailers collided. One person was killed. It happened just before 7 a.m. Friday. The highway was closed for nearly five hours. The accident happened right in the heart of Searcy, at exit 44. Southbound traffic was diverted around the scene straight into the city. The accident killed 28-year-old Charles Inloes Jr. of Batesville. He was hauling 80,000 pounds of empty glass bottles. Police say long skid marks indicate he hit the brakes hard.


Border agents killed in crash

LAS CRUCES, NM — Two U.S. Border Patrol agents were killed Thursday night while on duty after their patrol vehicle rolled several times on a scarcely traveled highway in southwest New Mexico. The single-vehicle crash occurred on N.M. Highway 338 near Cotton City, between Animas and Interstate 10, 20 to 30 miles southwest of Lordsburg in Hidalgo County. The agents were assigned to the Border Patrol's Lordsburg station. Their names were not released pending family notification. But news of the tragedy spread among friends who described one of the men, a 24-year-old brand-new agent from Pennsylvania, as smart, likable and dedicated to his job.


Texan falls to his death at Port of Shreveport-Bossier

Shreveport, TX - A Texas man fell to his death Friday morning while working on a communications tower at the Port of Shreveport-Bossier in an unincorporated area of southeast Caddo. Authorities said they were unsure how far Anthony Shands fell. The 72-year-old Gilmer resident had been connecting cables on the 150-foot tower for about an hour, according to Caddo sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick. Shands was wearing a harness as he worked, but it had not been determined whether the equipment malfunctioned or may have been misused, Chadwick said.


Wharton County game warden shot and killed in high speed chase Friday night

PIERCE, TX - Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Justin Hurst, who would have turned 34 today, was shot and killed following a high-speed chase that started on Alternate U.S. Highway 90 Friday night. Capital murder charges are expected to be filed today against a 26-year-old Wharton County man who led the chase. He is under guard at Oak Bend Hospital in Rosenberg where he is being treated for gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the Department of Public Safety. The pursuit started around 11:30 p.m. after a game warden spotted the man between East Bernard and Eagle Lake and suspected him of illegally hunting from the road. When he approached the vehicle, the man fled.


Rock fall kills worker in Washington state mine

METALINE FALLS Wash. -- A 43-year-old Montana man was killed Thursday in a rock fall while working underground in a lead and zinc mine, a mine spokesman said. Phillip Markhart of Red Lodge was killed while doing underground development work in the Pend Oreille Mine north of Metaline Falls, spokesman David W. Godlewski said. The mine was shut down after the accident and federal and state agencies were notified, mine general manager Mark Brown said in a news release.

The underground mine about 10 miles south of the Canadian border reopened in January 2004 after being closed since 1977. The accident was the first fatality since the mine reopened. Markhart was an employee of The Redpath Group, a mine development company that contracts with Teck Cominco American Inc., which is headquartered in Spokane.
Teck Cominco American is a subsidiary of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Teck Cominco Ltd.


WORKER'S DEATH PROBED BY STATE

GLENDALE, CA -- State workplace-safety officials on Thursday investigated the death of a 40-year-old Lancaster carpenter who was run over by a bulldozer at the $324 million Americana at Brand construction site.

Eddie Francisco Montoya was struck about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the 15.5-acre site along Brand Boulevard and died at the scene. Work resumed Thursday on the mixed-use shopping center and residential project slated to open next year.

California Department of Occupational Safety and Health investigators spent about three hours at the scene Wednesday. They believe the bulldozer's driver, who was backing up after moving soil, didn't see Montoya, said Dean Fryer, a Cal-OSHA spokesman.
Montoya was an employee of HB Parkco of Costa Mesa, a concrete subcontractor preparing the building's foundations. Inquiries about the incident were referred to the developer, Los Angeles-based Caruso Affiliated.


Shot guard finishes shift, dies

OAKLAND, CA -- Colleagues and even police were astonished by the case of a security guard who finished his shift and drove home after being mortally wounded by a stray bullet.

At home, Demetrio Baltazar's 11-year-old son tried to help him put a bandage on his head, but Baltazar's condition worsened, Oakland police Sgt. Jim Rullamas said. Baltazar died Wednesday in the hospital.

Investigators believe Baltazar, 59, was the random victim of a bullet from a shooting that took place nearby Sunday afternoon. That shooting, which resulted in injuries but no fatalities, was under investigation and did not appear to have any connection to Baltazar, Rullamas said.


Construction accident kills worker in West Philly

Philadelphia, PA -- A 47-year-old construction worker was killed this morning when a front-end loader fell on him at a West Philadelphia work site, police said.

The worker, not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania ay 10:07 a.m., about a half-hour after the accident at the site on the 400 block of North 62nd Street in Carroll Park.


Freak accident kills flagpole worker in St. Paul;

St. Paul, MN -- A flagpole repairman was killed Wednesday in St. Paul when a heavy metal ball fell off the pole he was working on and hit him in the head.

"It shouldn't have fallen off, and of all the areas to hit, it shouldn't have hit him," said Joan White, the victim's wife. Her 63-year-old husband, Gene White, who owned Twin Cities Flag Source in Anoka, was hit outside a Perkins restaurant about 1:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead later at Regions Hospital.

The metal ball that hit her husband weighed more than 10 pounds and is bigger than a bowling ball. It screwed into the top of the 70-foot flagpole. James Honerman, a spokesman for Minnesota OSHA, said Wednesday afternoon that his agency is investigating. He said that objects falling on workers have resulted in 15 deaths in Minnesota in the past five years. The agency also has investigated nine injuries resulting from falling objects at work in that time, he said.


Cab Driver Dies in Long Island Crash

CENTRAL ISLIP, Long Island -- A Long Island cabbie was killed when he crashed his taxi into two telephone poles and a fire hydrant in Central Islip. Suffolk County police said Preston Lawrence, 51, of Brentwood was driving a Comfort Ride Taxi at 2:15 Wednesday morning when he may have suffered a heart attack and lost control of the wheel. Lawrence was transported to Southside Hospital where he was pronounced dead.


Volunteer fireman killed fighting house fire in Hamilton Co.

CHATTANOOGA Tenn. -- A volunteer fireman honored as his department's firefighter of the year for 2006 was killed battling a house blaze in northern Hamilton County early Friday, emergency officials said.

Shane Daughetee, 24, was involved in a search and rescue operation inside the burning house in the Harrison area when he fell through the floor into the basement, Hamilton County Emergency Services spokeswoman Amy Maxwell said in a statement.
Authorities said Daughetee was married.


Trooper killed

East Quogue, NY -- An 18-year veteran state trooper was killed yesterday in a car accident after hitting a patch of black ice while on patrol in East Quogue, state police said. Jose Rosado, 45, of Deer Park, is the first state trooper stationed on Long Island to die in the line of duty in 10 years.

Rosado arrived at the barracks at 7 a.m. for a 12-hour shift, Heesch said. He was traveling south on County Road 104 south of Sunrise Highway about 9 a.m. when he hit black ice on a curve and lost control of his patrol vehicle, a 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe. It spun around into the northbound lane and struck a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban.


MAN DIES IN PLANT ACCIDENT

Chicago, IL -- A 20-year-old man died this week after his head got entangled in a hydraulic compressor at a southwest suburban distribution plant. Shawn Menzie, of Harvey, was operating a cardboard compressor Monday at Sertoma Centre at 4100 W. 127th St. in Alsip when he got caught, Alsip Police Chief Robert Troy said. Menzie was feeding pieces of cardboard into the machine and apparently stuck his head into the apparatus, Troy said. It was not clear why Menzie stuck his head into the machine, Troy said. Menzie died from blunt trauma to his head and neck.


Shreveport store owner dies; Teen faces first-degree murder charge

SHREVEPORT La. -- A store owner who was shot Monday afternoon during an apparent robbery at her business, died early Tuesday. Maeung Ram Ellis, 48, died at 3:30 a.m. at LSU Hospital, Shreveport police spokeswoman Kacee Hargrave said.

Ellis was shot in the head after one of the youths reportedly demanded money, which she refused to hand over.


Billiards owner's death may be result of beating

Police remain tight-lipped about an apparent homicide case involving a man found dead inside his billiards business last week. However, a search warrant affidavit made public Tuesday reveals Tri Xuan Phan may have been brutally beaten.

According to the affidavit filed in 3rd District Court, police discovered 36-year-old Phan face up in a pool of blood on Jan. 10, much of it covering his face. Several teeth, nearly an entire set, were found near his body.


Farmington / Nurse faces lesser charge in fatal crash; Teen worker killed as she weeded by road

Minneapolis, MN -- Exhausted at the end of her third overnight shift in as many days, Laura Ann Brockhaus left the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis and drove home. Brockhaus, a registered nurse, would later tell police she had worked 12 1/2-hour shifts, from 7:30 p.m. to 8 a.m., three days in a row. In her daylight hours, she had slept five or six hours one day and little more than three the next.

And she would tell police she tried her best but that there was nothing she could do to revive the teen who was struck by her car and then thrown to her death July 27. Less than a mile from her Farmington home, Brockhaus, 40, allegedly fell asleep at the wheel of her car near a busy Farmington intersection. The car jumped the curb of Pilot Knob Road and crashed into 18-year-old Jacquelynn Devney as the summer worker weeded a sidewalk trail. A Dakota County coroner later determined that Devney, who was weeks away from starting college, died instantly.


Tractor flips, killing Bedford County supervisor

BLUE RIDGE Va. -- A Bedford County supervisor was killed Thursday when his tractor flipped on a steep hill, pinning him beneath the machine, officials said. Montvale Supervisor Bobby Pollard, who was 71, was feeding his cattle when the tractor flipped, family members told County Administrator Kathleen Guzi. A home health care nurse visiting a neighbor found Pollard dead under his tractor, Guzi said.


Accident kills worker at I-15 project site

OGDEN, UT -- A road construction worker from Twin Falls, Idaho, was killed Sunday when the doors of a belly dumper accidentally closed on him while he was inside. Weber County Sheriff's Sgt. J.P. Hansen said the man's body was discovered by his son, who has been working with his father as a subcontractor on the I-15 road-widening project.

The man, 58, was apparently removing dirt from inside the belly dumper, preparing it for the next work shift, when the accident occurred. Safety chains that are normally attached to prevent the doors from closing apparently were not hooked up, Hansen said. The man's name was not released Sunday pending the notification of family.


Co-Pilot Lands Flight As Pilot Dies

McALLEN Texas -- The pilot of a Continental Airlines flight became ill after takeoff and was later pronounced dead after the plane made an emergency landing, a company spokeswoman said. The 210 passengers on Saturday's flight, which departed from Houston, were never in danger and the co-pilot landed the plane safely, Continental spokeswoman Macky Osorio said.

The airline said only that the pilot suffered a "serious medical problem." Continental believes the pilot died of natural causes, Osorio said. The pilot's name was not released.


Police arrest teen in New Albany businessman's death

NEW ALBANY Miss. -- Authorities say they have arrested a New Albany teenager who had worked part-time at a convenience store where the owner was shot to death. The name of the 16-year-old was not made public. He was arrested this past weekend and ordered held at the Union County Jail, said Police Chief David Grisham.

Hamza Ahmed Basha, 38, was shot this past Thursday at Central Station, his convenience store on Central Avenue off the U.S. 78 bypass. An autopsy confirmed that Basha died from a single shotgun wound to the back of the head. Basha's body will be returned to Minnesota, where he'd spent most of his life, for burial.


Brookville man killed in logging accident

Borrkville, PA -- A logger was killed in Jefferson County when the butt end of the tree he was cutting swung around and pinned him against another tree, state police said. Dennis A. Clinger, 41, of Brookville, died at about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at a logging site in Knox Township. The coroner ruled Clinger's death an accident. State police would not say who owned the logging site.


Dock worker's death ruled accidental

Carroll Township, PA -- The body of a Washington County dock worker was found Thursday morning on the edge of a docked barge at the Burrell Coal Yard along Route 837 in Carroll Township, near Monongahela, the Washington County Coroner said.

Blaine Edward Martin Jr., 55, of Donora, died of head injuries, said Coroner S. Timothy Warco, who ruled the death an accident. The body was found on a barge that was docked on the Monongahela River next to a towboat.

Martin's body was found by co-workers after his wife called his employer yesterday morning to say that Martin hadn't returned home from work Wednesday, Warco said.
Region

Anniversary of the tragedy at Texas City

Event Details

Please join us to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy at Texas City, and to unveil the Remember the 15 Bill. We will assemble on the South Steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin from 12:30 to 2:00 P.M.

But first read the Remember the 15 bill and sign the petition for Remember The 15 Bill

Location:
South Steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin
1100 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX

For driving directions click here.

Time: 12:30pm - 1pm

Speaker List:

Brent W. Coon is the founding member of the firm Brent Coon & Associates. A veteran of hundreds of jury trials, the firm has obtained verdicts for many individuals in excess of a million dollars over the last decade and total settlements in the hundreds of millions of dollars. His most recent case was serving as lead plaintiff’s attorney for Eva Rowe in her lawsuit against BP, PLC.. Brent earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center in less than two years and began his law career in 1986. In 2001, Brent undertook the development of Brent Coon & Associates litigation. Today Brent Coon & Associates has 14 offices across the country and is one of the largest plaintiff law firms in the country.

A Representative from State Representative Craig Eiland was first elected to the Texas State Legislature in 1994. Mr. Eiland began his public service representing the citizens of Galveston County. Mr. Eiland has been recognized three times by Texas Monthly magazine, including one of the "Ten Best Legislators" in 2003.

A Representative from Texas State Senator Mario V. Gallegos, Jr., has dedicated his career to helping others. After serving 22 years in the Houston Fire Department where he retired as Senior Captain, Gallegos continued his public service in the Texas Legislature. Elected to the Texas State Senate in 1994, he is the first Hispanic Senator elected to represent Harris County. Most recently he was recognized by the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters and the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas for his work during the 77th Legislative Session.

Tammy Miser co-founded United Support & Memorial or Workplace Fatalities (USMWF) in 2004 after her brother Shawn Boone was killed in an explosion at Hayes-Lemmerz Huntington, IN. Tammy’s experience dealing with a workplace death prompted her to ensure other families were able to gain the support, healing, awareness, and sensitive information she was not able to obtain. Through USMWF Tammy has helped assemble groups and individuals together for common causes; such as giving our lost workers a voice and helping families deal with the repercussions of their loved ones death.

T. Michael "Mike" O'Connor, a Houston businessman, is the visionary behind the Texas A & M University Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, internationally known for its research, education, service and outreach. Previously Mr. O’Connor worked 15 years for M.W. Kellogg as a heat transfer specialist and holds two patents. He currently splits his time between activities at the research center and business interests that include residential real estate development in the Katy area west of Houston.

Eva Rowe is a native of Hornbeck Louisiana.
On the morning of March 23, 2005, her parents were killed in the explosion at the BP Chemical Refining plant in Texas City, Texas. On November 9, 2006, Ms. Rowe agreed to a settlement in her lawsuit against BP, LLC. BP agreed to her demands, including: release legal documents to be made public and a total of $38 million to be donated to Texas A&M University Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Truman G. Blocker Adult Burn Unit, the College of the Mainland, in Texas City, the Cancer Center at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in memory of her parents, and to the Hornbeck, Louisiana school system in the memory of her mother. Ms. Rowe, with Brent Coon, is helping spearhead the passage of a bill in the Texas Legislature to do everything possible to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.

Emmett Sheppard is president of the Texas AFL-CIO, a state labor federation with approximately 220,000 affiliates from labor unions across Texas. The Texas AFL-CIO is the leading voice advocating for workers’ rights in Texas. A former City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem in his hometown of Groves, Mr. Sheppard worked at Gulf Oil Corp., where he assumed various duties in his union. In 2003 Mr. Sheppard won unanimous support to become Texas AFL-CIO president. Among other activities, he serves on the executive board of the Workers’ Assistance Program, which helps workers throughout the state with a variety of problems and on the executive advisory board of Project SAFE Texas.

Workers’ Memorial Day 2007

Workers Memorial Day 2007, a day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the fight for safe workplaces, will be observed by the Allegheny County Labor Council, in Pittsburgh, PA on Monday, April 30 at noon in Market Square. This ceremony will also commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Pittsburgh Survey, (1907-1908) the pioneering work of Crystal Eastman and others which investigated the horrendous living conditions of Pittsburgh’s working class. Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers, whose leadership saw the enactment of the Westray Bill of the Criminal Code of Canada, which holds corporations criminally liable when workers are killed or injured, will be the keynote speaker. The Allegheny County Bell, symbolic of a worker whose untimely death may have saved many, will be struck to remember those who have died due to unsafe working conditions this past year in Western Pennsylvania.

Crystal Eastman, founder of the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, came to Pittsburgh 100 years ago in 1907 and began an investigation of the labor conditions. Her report, Work Accidents and the Law, cataloged 526 workplace deaths that occurred in only 1 year in Allegheny County and highlighted the inadequacy of worker protection and compensation. This report was one of a 6 volume series that is known collectively as The Pittsburgh Survey, which examined life and labor in America’s 5th largest city, home to a massive exploited immigrant labor force. The progressive reforms this series called for were hindered by the oppressive power of Pittsburgh’s industrialists and its political machine.

Unfortunately 100 years later in 2007, workers still face many obstacles to achieving a safe workplace. The Bush administration, acting on behalf of corporate interests has moved to roll back and weaken existing worker protections. It has the worst record on safety rules in OSHA’s entire history, issuing no new significant rules during its first term. In 2006, as a result of the Sago mine disaster, the number of coalmine deaths doubled, with 47 coal miners killed on the job. After withdrawing dozens of needed safety rules under development in 2001, the Bush administration now is being compelled to issue stronger mine safety protections. Since Bush took office, there have been repeated attempts at slashing funding for OSHA, MSHA and NIOSH and since 2001 OSHA’s budget has been cut by $25.4 million.

OSHA lacks the resources to protect the 100 million workers under its jurisdiction. With its only 900 inspectors, it would take 110 years for OSHA to visit every worksite under its jurisdiction. The number of hours spent per OSHA inspection continues to decrease and the number of cases “downgraded” to less serious violations is rising. Penalties for serious violations remain low and are routinely reduced through a process called abatement. The killing of a worker through the “willful” violation of a safety law is a misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of 6 months in jail. In the 20 years between 1982 and 2002, only 1700 out of 170,000 workplace fatalities were deemed “willful”. OSHA declined to seek prosecution in 93% of these 1700 “willful” violations and less than 20 of these “willful” violators ever were imprisoned.


Each year, approximately 4.2 million workers are injured, over 5000 are killed and another 50,000 die due to occupational exposure. American workers need a strong OSHA and MSHA that puts workers, not employers, first and protects health and safety not corporate interests. Crystal Eastman’s pioneering work in Allegheny County 100 years ago was an important landmark in this ongoing struggle for workplace health and safety. Workers’ Memorial Day 2007 in Pittsburgh PA, will celebrate her important contribution to workplace safety, honor those who have lost their lives while on the job in western PA, and promote the health and safety of all workers.

Donna Puleio Spadaro, MD
Allegheny County Labor Council Workers’ Memorial Day Committee

The author’s brother, Gary Puleio, fell 25 feet from a concrete tower and was killed on August 15, 2001. After admitting no wrongdoing, the company which had informally settled multiple serious violations only months before Gary was killed, paid a $6000 fine.

Invitation to call sheilabug1

I went to view the comments after Melissa informed me of the comment section. One of the Individuals ask us to call her and I think that is a great idea. Why not give her a call and tell her what you all think? Her comment is below.

"I live in Harlan County, Ky. My husband is a retired, disabled coal miner. You should have notified the county so that the regular coal miners and their families could let you know how they really feel about Melissa Lee and her crusade to speak for all coal miners in Harlan. Anyone who works in a coal mine knows the risks they are taking and so do their families. They take that risk because they either love the mines or they love the money they can make. You should have asked Mrs. Lee if she is so heartbroken why did she remarry so quickly after her husbands death? That is the reason the mines quit sending her a check. That is the real reason she started her crusade. If you would like to speak to a coal miner, call my husband at 606-574-9988. Thank you."

Posted by sheilabug1 at 10:33 PM : Mar 11, 2007

This Number belongs to
Johnson, Carlos

45 Holiday Dr
Harlan, KY 40831

Just for the record this was my online comment.

sheilabug1-Well if Jimmy Lee wasn't a regular coal miner then what the hell was he doing there? Sounds to me as if you have nothing better do but gossip about things you have no clue about.
Grow a heart you still have your husband disabled or not. Melissa has children to raise without a father which rather she chose to remarry or not is none of your business she has every right and I happen to know that is a load of horse stuff she is still single. It is sad to see a woman has no motherly instinct that%u2019s what is wrong with this world today.
The tongue is sharper than a two edge sword and if it were for myself I would ignore your childish comment however it is not and someone needs to stand up to bullies like you.

Melissa Lee talks to 60 Minutes

Speak Out! Reach Out!

Melissa is on a mission.

When family members ban together it is amazing what they can accomplish.

The first step is awareness. We lose about 6,000 family members a year due to negligence. Even if they only have three close families that means 18,000 families grieve this type of loss every year. There is strength in numbers and we need to ban together to make a difference.

I realize that some have been in litigation and cannot speak about the exact incident however they can speak out and reach out. They can reach out to other families with this type of loss and they can help others trying to make a real change. Melissa you go girl!


Qoutes from Mellisa "I was receiving phone calls, blocked calls, out-of-area phone calls, making ugly comments that I need to shut up, that I talk too much," Lee tells Simon. "They don't give their names. I have men calling and saying, 'You know your kids catch the bus right down here below your driveway." ..... "There's too many people still here in Harlan County who have husbands underground. And if me speaking out keeps their sons safe, their grandsons safe, their son-in-laws safe, then I've done something good. My husband's death wasn't in vain."

Dockworkers

Miami, Florida - February 27, 2007

Reports have been received indicating that a fatal accident involving dockworkers occurred this evening at the Port of Miami.

While online media reports were nil, it is our understanding that a 66 year old ILA checker was struck and killed by a container toploader at around 11:00 PM. It is alleged that the checker was, at the time, a pedestrian. While we understand that the accident occurred near the gate complex administered by Seaboard Marine, there is no indication regarding other factual matters of importance. Seaboard Marine operates the 70 acre terminal under lease from the Miami Dade Port Authority.

As further relevant, releasable and more formal facts are made available, they will be appear at the Blueoceana Company’s website.

College of the Mainland efforts for the $2 million BP match

Katherine Rodriguez is currently on the College of the Mainland Foundation Board of Directors and has volunteered to be the chairwomen of the fundraising efforts for the $2 million match by BP. Katherine needs your help to raise the matching funds for the memorial scholarship established by Eva Rowe. Their deadline is June 30, 2007. They are sending out a mass mailing to the community and planning a silent auction and barbecue plate lunch at the College's open house on April 28, 2007. Katherine's family is very dedicated to this cause and they have all contributed to the fundraising efforts. These events will be updated! JUST IMAGINE $4 MILLION!

Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

A partial list of workplace fatalities over the past few weeks.

Man, woman killed in murder-suicide at pharmacy

PHOENIX, AZ -- A man and a woman were killed Thursday afternoon in an apparent murder-suicide inside a Phoenix pharmacy, a fire department spokesman said. Phoenix Fire Department spokesman Mike Sandulak said a worker at a CVS pharmacy in midtown Phoenix saw an ex-boyfriend of her co-worker walk into the store. The co-worker and her ex-boyfriend went into a break room, where the sound of shots rang out. The man and the woman were not immediately identified. Both died at the store, Sandulak said. Norma Chavez, who went to the pharmacy with her three children to fill a prescription for her son, said she walked in and heard one shot. "Everybody was screaming and everybody was running and I just grabbed the kids and started to run," said Chavez, who was standing across the street from the drug store. Officials with CVS didn't immediately return calls Thursday afternoon from The Associated Press seeking comment.


Construction worker dies in 30-foot fall

Mandeville, LA - A Pearl River construction worker died Friday after he fell 30 feet from the roof of a two-story building in Mandeville, authorities said. Brian Trosclair, 43, was walking backward while rolling out tar paper Friday afternoon when he fell off the roof of the Pontchartrain Yacht Club under construction at Lakeshore Drive and Jackson Avenue, authorities said Wednesday. Trosclair was taken to Lakeview Regional Medical Center near Mandeville, where he died several hours later, said Mark Lombard, chief investigator for the St. Tammany Parish coroner's office.Lombard said Trosclair died of trauma to his head and chest and internal injuries after falling face down in a mound of clay. The yacht club is being rebuilt after it was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.


Worker dies when trench collapses

KANSAS CITY, MO- A 51-year-old construction worker died yesterday when a 10-foot-deep trench in which he was working caved in, authorities said. The death of John Anderson was confirmed to relatives late yesterday afternoon when emergency crews located his body under several feet of heavy, muddy soil. The narrow trench, in a housing development being built in northern Kansas City, had collapsed about 12:30 p.m. Firefighters, who received the emergency call around 12:40 p.m., were still working late last night to retrieve the body, Fire Department Battalion Chief Joe Vitale said. "The trench is so narrow that they can’t work shoulder to shoulder. Only two individuals can work in there at a time, face to face," Vitale said. Anderson had been working alone in the trench, which appeared to be intended for a sewer or utility line, Vitale said. "He appeared to see the wall coming in," Vitale said. "And he took a step to avoid it, but it caught him." Other workers at the site tried frantically to free Anderson but made little headway in what Vitale described as 5 feet of compacted soil. Vitale said crews were careful during the recovery process to shore up the trench walls and prevent another cave-in.


St. Louis Police Officer Dies After Finishing Fitness Test

St. Louis, MO - A longtime St. Louis police officer died after collapsing while on-duty early Wednesday. The sergeant had just finished a mandatory fitness test. Officer Stephen Jerabek, 60, of Imperial, collapsed in the Police Academy gymnasium about 11 a.m. He was pronounced dead at St. Louis University Hospital of an apparent heart attack. Since last year, St. Louis police officers have been required to take a fitness test. No one is saying the fitness test is in any way to blame for the death, though everyone agrees the test is rigorous.


N.C. officer dies in wreck on way to assist another officer

DURHAM, NC — A Durham police officer was killed early Saturday morning after losing control of his patrol car and slamming into an overpass support. Charles Callemyn, 33, was heading west on Holloway Street about 3 a.m., en route to assist another officer with a traffic stop. He swerved out of control and struck a concrete column supporting the U.S. 70 overpass, police said. It was the second serious accident involving a Triangle police officer responding to a call in two days. A Raleigh police officer remains hospitalized after he lost control of his car and hit a stand of trees early Thursday morning.


Daughter of DPD officer dies in fire training

DENVER, CO - The daughter of a Denver Police Officer has died during firefighter training in Maryland. Racheal Wilson, 29, was the mother of two children and the daughter of Officer Ambrose Slaughter and his wife Virginia. Wilson was a Baltimore firefighter and she was killed in a training fire on Feb. 9. A funeral for Wilson will be held locally Thursday at the Macedonia Baptist Church located at 3240 Adams St. A burial will follow at the Fairmont Cemetery located at 430 S. Quebec St. Following the burial, a reception will be held at the Denver Fire Department Station 26 located at 7934 E. Martin Luther King Blvd.


Officer dies from wreck injuries

ALEXANDRIA, La. -- An Alexandria police officer has died from injuries sustained in a vehicle crash while responding to another officer's call for help. Brian Coleman, 35, was involved in the accident about 8 p.m. Tuesday and died Wednesday. The wreck came four years to the day after a shootout involving Alexandria police killed two officers. Police said Coleman had been driving with his blue lights on while responding to a call for help in catching shoplifters in the area of a mall. His vehicle went into a slide and hit a bridge on the driver's side, investigators said. Coleman had been with the department for seven years. The wreck came four years to the day after a shootout involving Alexandria police killed two officers.


Employee dies in snowblower accident at Hunter Mountain

CATSKILL, N.Y. -- A worker at Hunter Mountain ski center died when he was pulled into the blades of a snowblower last night. State police say 64-year-old Walter Rion was trying to close an overhead garage door while standing between the door and a running six-foot-wide snowblower. Rion's clothes were caught in the moving blades and he was pulled into the machine.


Jaguar kills zookeeper in Denver

DENVER, CO -- A male jaguar killed a zookeeper at the Denver Zoo on Saturday and employees put the animal down, police said. "I can confirm that a female worker was killed and we're still conducting an investigation," Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said. According to a statement posted on the zoo's Web site (www.denverzoo.org), the 6-year-old jaguar attacked the unidentified worker inside its enclosure late Saturday morning. Armed employees entered the enclosure to retrieve the injured woman when the cat threatened them. "The jaguar approached staff trying to assist the zookeeper and it was shot and killed," the statement said


Injured police officer dies

WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- A Winston-Salem police sergeant died late Friday from gunshot injuries sustained during a shooting on Jonestown Road. Sgt. Howard J. Plouff was shot while trying to help other officers break up fights that spilled into the street outside of the Red Rooster Lounge on Jonestown Road around 2 a.m. "It was several fights in the club and then it led outside and all I know is I heard gunshots," said Shawn Rhoden, a witness who was at the Red Rooster. It was supposed to be a chance to take a break from their studies. Instead, hundreds of students from Winston-Salem State University who were hanging out at the Red Rooster found themselves dodging bullets.


Delaware County Auto Shop Owner Found Dead

COLLINGDALE, PA - According to authorities, a man was found dead in a Norwood, Delaware County Auto Shop, Saturday night. The victim, 24 year-old Thomas Lennox, was discovered around 7 p.m. in the auto shop located at 652 Chester Pike. The employee came to show a car for sale when he made the discovery. According to authorities, Lennox was last seen one hour prior to his death by his brother. Police said Lennox, the owner of the V.I.P. Detailing Shop, appeared to have blunt trauma to the head. Lennox's vehicle, an Acura Integra, was reported missing and was later stopped by Collingdale's Police at 9:56 p.m. Detectives questioned the two men and the woman who were inside the vehicle. The two men, 27 year-old Shawn Johnson and 24 year-old Matthew Zarzycki were detained and both charged with theft.


Construction worker killed on high-rise project

Yonkers, NY – A 40-year-old construction worker was killed Monday in an accident at a condominium high-rise that is under construction at 66 Main Street in the City of Yonkers. City Police said the man, who they did not immediately identify, was maneuvering a large concrete slab on the eighth floor of the structure about 9:30 a.m., when something went wrong, causing the slab to fall, landing on similar slabs on lower floors, until they pancaked to the ground. The worker rode the slab on the eighth floor to the third level, when he sustained severe head injuries. He was rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. When completed, the building is expected to be 15-stories tall.


Driver fatally stricken in truck cab

Indianapolis, IN - A truck driver from Greencastle died this morning after police say he apparently suffered a heart attack and lost control of his semi-tractor trailer on the Northside. Phillip Noland, 51, 5100 block of East county Road 600 South, Greencastle, died at St. Vincent Hospital at 1:48 a.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Doug Scheffel said. Police say the semi-tractor trailer was traveling south on Zionsville Road when the driver lost control of the vehicle near 71st Street at 1:26 a.m. The vehicle left the road and traveled through several yards before striking a utility pole, police said. Noland had a dog in the cab with him, Scheffel said.


Trucker killed on wet road

PRESCOTT, AR - A gas truck released more than 1,000 gallons of gas after an accident on Highway 371 left the driver of the tanker truck dead at the scene. The accident occurred shortly after noon on Saturday and area residents were evacuated due to fumes and the possibility of an explosion. Patrick D. Sloan, 34, of Shreveport, La., was the driver of the 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer. Sloan was pronounced dead at the scene, according to information from the Arkansas State Police. Nevada County Emergency Management Coordinator Jim Cross said there was no indication of the cause of the wreck. "It was a relatively straight area and it looked like he just veered off the road," Cross said in a telephone interview Monday. Nevada County Sheriff Bobby Carlton said county deputy Robert Henninger was the first on the scene and that Henninger reported the driver was lying in gasoline when the officer arrived. Carlton said there was no indication that the driver was alive at that point.


Authorities Identify Worker Killed, Man Falls While Repairing Power Lines

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Authorities have released the name of a worker who fell to his death while repairing iced-damaged transmission lines near Cedar Rapids. The Linn County Sheriff's Office said 34-year-old Eric Jones, of Burlington, Wis., fell about 90 feet Monday afternoon from a basket of a utility truck. Officials said he fell as a result of equipment failure. Jones was an employee of Hooper Corp. of Madison, Wis. Alliant Energy had contracted the company to repair utility lines after the weekend snow storm left thousands without electricity. The sheriff's office said a piece of equipment on the truck malfunctioned, causing the basket and Jones to fall.


Barbershop employee fatally shot

BEAR, Del. - Authorities say a 29-year-old employee of a Bear barbershop was shot and killed outside the business today. State police are investigating the shooting, which happened around 2 p-m at Monks Barber and Hair Salon on Old Baltimore Pike. Police say the victim stepped outside and got into an argument with a man, who pulled a handgun and fired one shot. The shooter fled in an S-U-V with Pennsylvania tags. A spokeswoman for New Castle County paramedics says the victim was shot once in the upper torso. He was taken to Christiana Hospital, where he died.


Two Women Found Shot To Death

TX - A bizarre love triangle turns deadly after a wife, allegedly upset over her husband's cheating heart, takes matters into her own hands. Tonight a man's wife and lover are dead following a murder suicide in the parking lot of The Best Little Warehouse in Texas. At around 11 o'clock police were called out to the Southbound 281, between Eldora and Sioux road after the bodies of two Edinburg women were found in two separate cars. Both women had been fatally shot. Pharr police say 58 year old Gloria Garza Diaz, an employee of the storage company, was allegedly having an affair with another woman's estranged husband. So this morning, the wife 55 year old Alma Calzontzint came here and shot Diaz then took the gun and shot herself in the heart.


Farm worker killed

Santa Maria, CA - An industrial accident that killed a farm worker on a Sisquoc farm this morning is still being investigated. The man — who is believed to be in his mid-20s and from the Santa Maria area — was working for Agro-Jal Farms Inc. in a field around 7 a.m. It is still unclear how the man died, but officials say the man was somehow fatally struck with a harvesting machine backing toward him. His name is being withheld pending notification of relatives in Mexico.


Ohio Officer Shot, Killed While Chasing Suspect, Funeral Information Below

NORTH TOLEDO, Ohio-- An early morning shooting has claimed the life of a Toledo Police vice detective. It happened in the 1400th block of Ontario, near Bush, in north Toledo. In a Wednesday morning news conference, Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre says 35-year-old Detective Keith Dressel, officer Todd Miller, and detective William Bragg stopped two people on Ontario Street around 2:00am. The preliminary investigation shows the officers may have interrupted some kind of drug deal. Navarre says both suspects appeared young, and the officers at first thought they were dealing with curfew violators. As the officers got out of their car and identified themselves, Navarre says the two suspects ran away. One, a 19-year-old man, was taken into custody right away. Dressel chased the other, believed to be a 15-year-old male. Navarre says Dressel confronted the boy, and shots were exchanged. A single bullet hit Dressel in the chest. Navarre says other police units rushed to the scene almost instantly, and started giving Dressel first aid. Rescuers took him to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead at 2:36am.


Two workers die in grain elevator

CARROLLTON, MO - Two men (William Lee Mace, 28, of Carrollton, and David Gene Hamblen Jr., 30, of Malta Bend)were killed yesterday when a grain elevator collapsed, burying them in 10 to 20 feet of corn, officials in this northwest Missouri town said. Firefighters were called to the Ray-Carroll County Growers elevator at 11:30 a.m. and began digging by hand and with heavy equipment, Fire Chief Curtis Shields said. After more equipment was brought in to shore up the collapsed structure and hold back the grain, the digging resumed, and the men’s bodies were recovered at 2:50 p.m., Shields said. The victims’ names and the type of work they were doing when the elevator collapsed had not been released yesterday evening. Shields said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the collapse.


Marina del Rey: Tugboat crewmember killed in accident offshore; another crewmember injured

Los Angeles, CA - Tugboat crewmember Piper Cameron, 26, was killed Tuesday, February 20th, in a tugboat accident a couple of miles off Marina del Rey, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detective Robert Harris. Piper's co-worker, Scott Dekraii, 38, was also injured aboard the Emma Foss in his attempt to help her, said Harris. Two other crewmembers were on board but were not injured. All four were employees of Foss Maritime Company. The tugboat accident occurred at about 10:55 a.m. Tuesday, February 20th, and was described by Harris as a "very, very tragic accident." The crewmembers on the tug were towing a barge, and as they were attempting to release the barge, one of the towlines that ran between the tugboat and barge became "taut, like a whip," said Harris. "It snapped her [Cameron] into the railing of the ship."


Two killed in accident near Garberville

EUREKA, CA -- A Eureka man and a man from Manteca were killed early Wednesday morning as a result of a head-on collision between a pickup truck and big rig carrying a load of steel rods. Neither man was identified by press time. The California Highway Patrol said that at about 6 a.m. the Eureka man was driving a 2004 Dodge pickup southbound on U.S. Hwy 101 near Bell Springs Road at an undetermined speed. The driver of the 1996 Freightliner tractor-trailer was northbound, also driving at an undetermined speed. The CHP said that the driver of the pickup allowed his truck to drift to the left and cross the double yellow centerline of US 101. The left front of the 2004 Dodge pickup struck the left front of the 1996 Freightliner tractor-trailer. The C HP said the driver of the pickup was wearing a seatbelt and was killed on impact. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not wearing a seatbelt. The impact opened up the left side of the 1996 Freightliner's cab and the driver was ejected from the vehicle.


LI man killed in underground explosion

WATERBURY, Conn. -- Waterbury police have identified the electrical contractor killed in an underground transformer explosion Wednesday afternoon. The victim was 34-year-old Elias Anchundia of Long Island. A second worker sustained minor injuries. The men were contractors performing maintenance work for Connecticut Light and Power. The blast knocked out power to several business in the downtown and streets there were expected to be closed overnight, city police say.


Friends, Family Remember Victim Of Lago Vista Plane Crash

Lago Vista, TX. - The pilot of a single-engine plane that crashed in Lago Vista reported a problem with the aircraft before it went down. Derrich Pollock, 45 of Austin died in the crash. On Tuesday, investigators said Pollock took off from the Lago Vista airport then turned around and tried to land there. His Cessna plane went down in a wooded area near the airport.


Driver believed killed in fire as propane truck and train collide, Blaze keeps workers from finding body

Lacon, AL. - Firefighters late Monday were still trying to douse the fiery wreckage of a propane delivery truck that collided with a train Monday morning in Morgan County. The wife of an AmeriGas employee said a company official told her Monday evening that the body of her husband was beneath the truck but firefighters could not get to it. "He is dead; he was trapped up under the truck," said Lisa Vinson, tears rolling down her face. "They won't be able to get to the body until they can deal with the gas." Eric Vinson, 31, of Jasper was the only one of AmeriGas' employees unaccounted for after the collision, Lisa Vinson said. Authorities were not confirming that anyone was in the burning propane truck. Firefighters had been unable to get within 200 feet to 300 feet of the extremely hot fire.


Disputes at nightclubs lead to two slayings, one injury

Dallas, TX - Adan Sanchez, a club security guard working in the 1400 block of North Industrial Boulevard, died Sunday. He was shot in a parking lot between two clubs, Los Tiburones Club and the Dolphin Lounge, police said. An unknown suspect fled in a black pickup truck. Mr. Sanchez, 19, was taken by private vehicle to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead early Sunday, police said.


Medical examiners identify maintenance worker shot dead

San Antonio,TX - Medical examiners have identified a maintenance worker shot dead Monday at a West Side bar. Eleasar Gutierrez, 47, suffered gunshots to the cheek and torso, a police report said. Witnesses told police they saw two men enter Zuniga’s Bar in the 6400 block of Elmer Boulevard around 5:30 p.m. Four gunshots rang out, and the men fled in a white vehicle, the report said. No arrests have been made in the slaying.


Verizon workers protest in L.B.CA, Picketers say job quotas too high, endanger employees.

CA - Gibson said workers and union members want management to address issues about an increased daily quota of jobs completed by technicians, which he said has been forcing older workers into early retirement and causing health issues among those who remain with the company. "Verizon's a good company but the people on the lower level of (leadership) manage brutally," Gibson said. "The productivity (measure requirements) is pushing it too far. It's literally killing people." Monday's protest came a week after the death of Verizon Bixby Yard technician Gerry DeCou, a 30-year employee who had a heart attack in the middle of a job at a customer's home.

Colleagues remember officer killed in bus wreck

Oxford, AL. - Oxford Police Lt. Dexter Holcomb, 46, who was killed by an out-of-control school bus, is being remembered by his colleagues as a compassionate man who loved law enforcement work. Holcomb, who died Friday, is the first Oxford police officer to die in the line of duty since 1977, Capt. Bill Partridge said. "He was a friend to everyone," Partridge said. Holcomb, 46, had been an Oxford police officer for more than 20 years. He also worked with children at the SAFE Schools after-school program, served as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Piedmont, and worked off-duty security at a department store.


Worker killed at Martin Marietta quarry, Worker killed, 1 hurt when truck, rail car collide

MONROE, NC. - A dump truck and a rail car collided at a Monroe quarry Monday, killing one worker and injuring another. The collision, which police described as an industrial accident, occurred just after 11 a.m. at Martin Marietta Aggregates Bakers Quarry on Rocky River Road, near Old Charlotte Highway. The accident occurred as a worker manned the external brake system on a pair of connected boxcars as they moved down sloped tracks on the quarry property, Monroe Fire Chief Ron Fowler said. One of the rock-filled cars struck a dump truck crossing the tracks, trapping the brake operator, Fowler said. The worker, Billy C. Wallace, 50, of Jefferson, S.C., died en route to Carolinas Medical Center-Union in Monroe, according to a news release from the Monroe Police Department. The truck driver, whose name was not released, was treated at the scene for minor injuries, Fowler said. Monroe police and the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration are investigating.


Man Charged With Murder Of Bridgeton Motel Clerk

Bridgetown, MO. - A former Bridgeton resident is now charged with second-degree murder following the fatal beating of a motel clerk. Henry Carmical, 35, is accused of beating Martin Taveggia, a clerk at the Economy Inn & Suites.Police were called to the motel at about 10:20 p.m. Monday by co-workers after Taveggia did not show up for his shift.Hotel general manager Abu Subhanee said Taveggia was "a very disciplined, very conscientious worker." Taveggia was also a resident of the motel, located in the 12400 block of St. Charles Rock Road. His death is Bridgeton's first homicide of 2007. Carmical is being held at the Bridgeton Police Department in lieu of $250,000 bond.


Truck driver killed in wreck that tied up I-40 for hours

Lenoir City, TN. - The driver of a tractor-trailer truck died Monday when his truck flipped over on Interstate 40 in Loudon County, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Irvin W. Wright, 64, of Hermitage, was driving eastbound on I-40 when he apparently lost control and struck a guardrail on the right side of the road about 11:08 a.m., said a report filed by THP Trooper Cory Russell. The truck then flipped onto its right side and skidded about 300 feet, Russell's report said. There were no indications of drug or alcohol use and Wright was wearing a seat belt, the report said. Eastbound traffic was diverted through Lenoir City for more than seven hours after the wreck, according to a THP dispatcher.


Worker found dead with gunshot wounds

San Antonio, TX - Two workers at a West Side bar found a 40-year-old employee on the floor dead with gunshot wounds Monday evening, authorities said. Police dispatchers received a call about the fatality at 5:30 p.m. from Zuniga's Bar in the 6400 block of Elmer Boulevard, said San Antonio police Sgt. Rudy Lopez. The unidentified man was shot a couple of times in the torso, Lopez said. Workers told police they left the man for five minutes and that when they returned he was dead. Lopez said the bar was closed for the day and that nothing was taken from the scene. The victim had worked at the bar for four days, cleaning floors and tables, Lopez said. Passers-by told officers they saw two men get into a white minivan and flee the scene, Lopez said. The man's identity was withheld until family members could be notified.


Quik Stop clerk killed

MODESTO CA. - A masked gunman shot and killed Randeep Singh, 29, in the Sisk Road Quik Stop gas station about 1:35 a.m. Friday, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department reported. Sheriff's deputy Royjindar Singh said two masked men entered the store to rob it. One of them reportedly shot Randeep Singh. The deputy, who is not related to the victim, said Saturday night that there were no new developments in the case, but detectives were following up on leads. There is no description of a getaway car or detailed description of the two robbers


Lowell man dies after falling into grain bin

Lowell, MI - A Lowell man died Tuesday afternoon after being trapped in a two-story grain bin filled with corn at an area farm. Russell Emery Fisk, 65, was using an auger to load shelled corn from a 10,000-bushel grain bin into his semi-truck at about 10 a.m. at Kosten Farms, located at 9292 Holland Lake Road. The Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office said Fisk was attempting to break ice from the top of the bin when he fell inside. Fisk was pulled to the bottom of the bin and suffocated. Farm Owner Dave Kosten and other workers noticed Fisk missing at 10 a.m. and began looking for him. They called the sheriff’s office at 10:27 a.m.


Glendale officer dies after gun battle

Tucson, AZ, - Anthony Holly, 24, of Peoria died Monday afternoon after he was shot earlier in the day during a traffic stop. Holly is the first officer killed in the line of duty in Glendale in more than 20 years. Holly and another officer were shot at during a traffic stop about 8 a.m. Monday at Oregon Avenue, northwest of Camelback Road. Police spokesman Matt Barnett said the officers were driving separate cars when they stopped a man. Gunfire erupted when police realized the man was driving with outstanding warrants. Holly and the driver exchanged gunfire. The other officer was injured.


One dead in trench collapse

Dallas TX. - One worker died and a second was injured when a trench collapsed Friday afternoon along a light rail line under construction, officials said. The trench collapsed in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas while two workers were helping reset a water line along a planned rail route, said Dallas Area Rapid Transit spokeswoman Morgan Lyons. Firefighters dug through the rubble to find one victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim was taken to Baylor University Medical Center. Neither victim's name was released. Lyons said that both men worked for a subcontractor handling utility work along the line.


2 People Killed When Airport Buses Collide Two Others Critically Injured

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Two people were killed after a pair of shuttle buses crashed head-on at the Fort Lauderdale, FL. airport. Authorities said the driver of one bus (George Pitter) and a passenger in the other were killed. A total of eight people are hurt, including two critically. The collision happened late Sunday night on a road that circles the airport. Investigators said they believe the driver who was killed was heading east, when a bus going west crossed into his lane. An airport spokesman said the shuttle buses often take workers to and from their cars. He said it's believed some of those on the buses are airport employees, but it's unclear how many are.


Gas Station Worker Dies in Shooting

Milwaukee, WI. - Milwaukee police say a 33-year-old employee of a B-P Gas Station is dead from multiple gunshot wounds. But a second employee survived a gunshot wound to the side. Authorities say it's not yet clear whether the two were shot in an apparent robbery. Police say there were no outside witnesses and no customers inside the store when the men were shot before about 8 last night.


3 killed in van crash identified

FORT WORTH, TX – Authorities have identified three people killed in a van that crashed on Interstate 20 in southeast Fort Worth Tuesday morning. Stephanie Howard, 21, Monica Woods, 24, and William Howe, 59, died in the crash, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner. A fourth person was critically injured. Howard and Woods were employees of EduCare -- a statewide organization that provides residential, therapeutic, job-training and educational support to people with mental and physical disabilities.


Loveland construction worker dies from injuries suffered in fall

WINDSOR, CO ­ A 39-year-old Loveland man who died after falling 25 feet off a roofing plank Tuesday is being remembered by family and co-workers as "a wonderful person, a true professional" and someone "with an infectious personality." Brian Hartman, of J.N.C. Contractors Inc., of LaPorte, was working at a new home construction site, 5506 Fairmont Drive, when he lost his balance on a scaffolding plank and fell about three stories to the ground at about 12:44 p.m. Tuesday, according to Windsor Police Chief John Michaels.


Worker Killed When Clothes Get Caught In Farm Equipment

OLATHE, Colo. -- Montrose County investigators are still trying to figure out how a farm worker's clothes got caught up in a truck's power take-off shaft, pulling him in and killing him. Coroner Dr. Thomas Canfield said 57-year-old Catarino Roman died in the accident Tuesday morning. Emergency crews, including the Olathe Volunteer Fire Department, responded to the scene -- but were unable to help the man. Sheriff Rick Dunlap said the Roman had only been working on the farm for about a month. Roman was unloading corn at Seymour Farms at the time of the accident. The owner of the property found his employee about 11:15, and called 911.


Spartanburg County sheriff's deputy killed

Spartanburg, SC — Kevin Carper worked second shift Tuesday, the ninth anniversary of his graduation from the police academy. The Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputy was supposed to get off at midnight, when the 39-year-old husband and father of three girls would have returned to his family at their Moore home. But Mr. Carper’s shift ended at 10 p..m. with a bullet to the chest, shot by a man who fled from a traffic stop near Wellford. The state Legislature adjourned in his honor Wednesday. The flag flying in front of the Sheriff’s Office lowered to half-staff. Wreaths of white and blue flowers popped up at law enforcement agencies and the county courthouse. At the Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Carper’s colleagues continued their work with red, weary eyes and exhausted faces. They pinned blue ribbons to their uniforms in memory of the first officer to die in the line of duty in Spartanburg County since 1967.


Feds Join Probe Of Deadly Yonkers Collapse

Younkers, NY - The U-S Occupational Safety and Health Administration has joined the investigation of a deadly collapse at a luxury condo construction project in Yonkers. OSHA investigators and city officials will investigate what caused a floor slab to collapse, sending a worker to his death. The city building inspector has shut down the project while the investigation is underway. The accident Monday at 66 Main Street claimed the life of Gregory Brensen of Pennsylvania, 40, according to Deputy Fire Chief John Flynn.


Cop Driving Wrong Way Dies in Wreck

Powder Springs, GA - A 55-year-old Powder Springs police officer driving south in the northbound lanes of I-75/85 died early Friday when his vehicle struck an ambulance head-on just south of Fulton Street. A female patient and two crew members inside the ambulance were injured. The ambulance from Clayton County was en route to Grady Memorial Hospital when the accident took place about 2:50 a.m. The ambulance crew was taken to Southern Reginal Hospital in Clayton County for treatment. The female patient was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening. The wrong-way driver was identified as Billy Morgan, authorities said. Morgan was driving a Cadillac Escalade at the time of the wreck.


Construction worker electrocuted at site in Granite City

GRANITE CITY, IL -- A 46-year-old Okaville, Ill. man was killed today while working for a masonry contractor on a Granite City construction site. About 1:15 p.m., John L. Mueller Jr. was putting rebar into concrete. While Mueller was lifting a piece of rebar, the top hit a high voltage line above his head, according to information released by the Madison County Coroner Stephen Nonn. Those on the scene immediately began CPR, and the Granite City Fire Department transported Mueller to Gateway Regional Medical Center. After finding no signs of life, emergency room physician Dr. Chennaiah Nadindla pronounced Mueller dead at 2 p.m., according to Nonn.


Second rider dies of injuries suffered at Mototown USA: Friends, family remember Phillip Tenerowicz of Enfield

WINDSOR, CT - For the second time in less than a month, an accident at Mototown USA has resulted in a rider's death. The latest rider to die of injuries suffered at Mototown, the world's largest indoor motocross facility, is Phillip Tenerowicz, 36, of Enfield, who suffered critical injuries that would result in his death during his first visit to Mototown on Feb. 20. Tenerowicz died Tuesday at Hartford Hospital a week after his accident and just three days after his birthday. Tenerowicz's death comes just 19 days after the death of Joseph Cappola, 39, of Darien, who was killed at Mototown on Feb. 8 after his bike hit a bump on the children's track, causing him to be ejected from his motorcycle, authorities have said.


AK Steel contractor killed on the job

Middletown, OH - A man(Rodolfo "Rudy" Guzman, 52, of Lebanon) working for a contractor at AK Steel Corp.'s Middletown Works was killed instantly this morning while changing a tire on a semi truck. The Butler County Coroner's Office and AK Steel spokesman Alan McCoy confirmed the death of the employee of RMB Enterprises of Fostoria, Ohio, a contractor of the steelmaker. Jeff Beck, general manager of RMB, declined to release the name of the employee pending the notification of families. "The accident is under investigation and we'll be cooperating fully with the investigation," Beck said. McCoy indicated it was not a member of the company's temporary replacement worker team, which have been operating the mill since the company locked out its hourly union March 1, 2006.


Newark Sergeant Killed in Car Crash

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A veteran sergeant of the Newark Police Department died Saturday morning after his patrol car flipped over during a high-speed chase, authorities said. Sgt. Tommaso Popolizio, 33, a husband and father of four children, joined a chase involving several patrol cars around 4 a.m. "Sergeant Popolizio was a highly respected and decorated 12-year veteran of the Newark Police Department who was known for his bravery and dedication to the job," Newark Police Director Gary McCarthy said in statement. Police had responded to a report of drag racing on Doremus Avenue and stopped one of the vehicles attempting to flee.


Mechanic killed by fallen vehicle

Chesapeake, VA - OSHA began investigating a fatal accident at a Chesapeake car dealership Friday. Rescuers were called to the First Team Dodge near Chesapeake Square Mall after a car fell off a lift and killed a mechanic. At 8:15 Friday morning, a 5000 pound Dodge Durango fell and crushed the mechanic underneath. The First Team Dodge President Gerry Reust said that the worker was experienced and had been there over one and a half years. OSHA investigators have not determined the cause. Loss of hydrolic pressure was not an issue according to Reust. He said the Durango may not have been secured properly on the lift, or a shift in weight may have caused the car to fall.


Police: Couple Arrested In Fatal Road Rage Crash

DALLAS, TX -- A construction worker was hit and killed in what state troopers called a case of road rage between a couple having an argument, NBC 5 reported. The crash happened at about 11 p.m. Friday on a ramp at the President George Bush Turnpike and Dallas North Tollway. Authorities said Justin Perry, 25, and Holly Perry, 26, had been arguing and where intoxicated when Holly's car bumped her husband's SUV and sent it crashing into a construction zone. "A construction worker was working and (the SUV) struck the construction worker," said Texas DPS Sgt. Robert Bernard Jr. The worker, Jose Santos Guardiola-Ruilas, 29, was taken by Careflight to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, where he died, troopers said.


Business owner shot to death in southwest Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- A Little Rock man who'd previously been shot during a break-in at his business was found dead inside his store Friday, police said. Richard Doug White was found shot to death at the Razorback Air Filter store in southwest Little Rock, police said. Officials said White died of two gunshot wounds but declined to give further details. Former employee and friend Neil Bell said White had been shot before during a break-in. That time, the bullet grazed the left side of White's chest, Bell said. "We had been trying to get in touch with him all day," Bell said, adding that when he drove by the business Friday afternoon he found the store locked up.

Teenager dies in farm accident

ENID Okla. -- A 17-year-old maintenance worker at a hog farm was fatally injured when he was hit by a cap that blew off a sewer line, an attorney for the farm said.

Julio Adrian Gonzalez-Chavez, 17, and another employee were removing the cap, which was under pressure, when the accident occurred on Jan. 4 at Hanor Farms' operation in Ames, said attorney Brad Gungoll. Gonzalez-Chavez died the next day.


Worker killed in construction accident in Fort Valley

Macon, GA -- A construction worker was killed on a job site early this morning after a backhoe backed over him, police said.

Willie Joe Williams of Garrison Construction was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Peach Regional Medical Center, said Fort Valley police Capt. Joe Saxon. Williams was bent over when he was struck by the backhoe driven by Eugene Maxwell, 22, the officer said. "It just got him," Saxon said.


Man killed in accident at construction site

NORTH PLATTE Neb. -- A Wallace man died Tuesday in a construction accident south of this central Nebraska city. Douglas Lockwood, 49, was killed at the construction site, where he was working as a subcontractor, Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer said.

Kramer said Lockwood was operating a high lift forklift at the site of a new home when he got too close to an embankment, tipping the forklift backward. Kramer said Lockwood was thrown from the forklift, which then rolled on top of him.


Contractor dies in Marcus Hook work accident

Philadelphia, PA -- A contractor was killed on the job at Peco's Marcus Hook facility early yesterday morning, a spokesman for the company confirmed. The man, whose name officials were not releasing at the request of his family, was readying part of the building for demolition when the accident occurred.

Further details - including the exact type of work the man was doing at the time of his death, his employer, and how the accident occurred, are not yet available, said Michael Wood, a Peco spokesman. Wood did say that the death was likely a result of "electrical contact" and that Peco and the contractor have launched a formal probe into the death.


Longtime Dixonville rancher dies in tractor accident

Dixonville, OR -- Longtime rancher Ross Dallas Bennett died Friday in a farm tractor accident on his Dixonville ranch. A passer-by found Bennett, 65, not breathing next to a tractor on Bennett’s property at 966 Brumbach Road shortly before 5 p.m., according to a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office report.

Bennett’s shirt tail had become caught in the Ford 5000 tractor’s power take-off drive shaft, causing him to choke to death, an investigation revealed.


N.O. metropolitan area cabbies fear for safety after taxi driver murder

New Orleans, LA -- The Jan. 4 murder of cab driver Monier Gindy in Marrero was not an isolated incident, said Terry Tunstall, dispatcher for A Service Cab Co. in Metairie. Cabbies have become frequent targets of the crack dealers and "baby gangstas" terrorizing the New Orleans metropolitan area since Hurricane Katrina.

"You're taking your own life in your hands any time you make a pickup now," Tunstall said. "There is so much money for the cab drivers to be made out there right now. And believe me, the little street thugs know this. Crime is running rampant, and the drivers are basically out there on their own. "


3 arrested in slaying of clerks

Madison, TN -- Metro police say a 16-year-old girl was the second shooter in the deaths of two clerks killed during an attempted robbery in Madison Tuesday night. Police arrested Rokisha Alderson of Curdwood Boulevard late Wednesday night, just hours after charging Joshua Lee Brown, 20, in the slayings. Robin Betts II, 18, who police believe drove the getaway car, was also arrested. All three were to be charged with two counts of criminal homicide. Police say Brown and Alderson entered the AM & PM Discount Tobacco store on Gallatin Pike about 9:30 Tuesday night, both armed and wearing ski masks, and tried to rob the store. After reviewing the surveillance videotape, police determined that Brown was armed with a shotgun and shot Salama Estfanous, 23, almost immediately after entering the store, Aaron said.

The pair tried to get into the cash register, but the tapes show they were unsuccessful. Store employee Bishouy Hanna, 24, and customer James Lee Rayburn, 55, of La Vergne, were shot while they lay on the floor as the would-be robbers left, Aaron said. Hanna and Estfanous were pronounced dead at the scene. Television reports said the two men had emigrated from Egypt in recent years, looking for a better life in America.


Worker shot during robbery of Korean grocery store dies

Oklahoma, OK -- A grocery store worker who was shot during a robbery in south Oklahoma City on Saturday died at the hospital, police said. The worker, identified by his wife as Mike Lee, 44, of Oklahoma City, was shot at the Korean Oriental Foods Store at 4250 S Bryant Ave.

The store was robbed about 7 p.m. Saturday by a black man wearing black clothing, Phillips said. The man demanded money and shot Lee before fleeing, Phillips said.


Fumes kill carpenter working in Plymouth's Pinehills

Quincy, MA -- A man died after he was overcome by carbon monoxide inside a construction storage trailer in the Pinehills housing development in Plymouth, police and firefighters said. Admont J. Znotin, 43, of Buzzards Bay was using a generator that produced the odorless, poisonous fumes, Plymouth police Capt. Michael Belmont said.


Huntsville barber slain outside shop

HUNTSVILLE Ala. -- A Huntsville barber answered a cell phone call, stepped outside and was shot multiple times, police said. Police Sgt. Ed Cain said the victim, Christopher Byrd, 32, was shot and killed about 6 p.m. Friday behind the Better Days Barber Shop on Bronco Circle, just west of Jordan Lane.


Driver Killed By Own Transport Truck In Duarte

DUARTE, Calif. --The driver of a transport truck was killed Wednesday when he was run over by his own vehicle, authorities said. The driver had just gotten out of the truck to talk on his cell phone while walking to the office to do some paperwork when he was hit, Deputy Don Moses said. The driver's partner was backing up the truck and apparently did not see the driver.


Wal-Mart driver killed after being hit by truck

GEORGETOWN, CO – The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the death of a Wal-Mart truck driver after he was killed Sunday morning. Troopers say 50-year-old Bruce Kay of Loveland was outside the truck in the chain-up area at mile marker 228 on eastbound I-70 just outside of Georgetown when he was killed. The driver of a red 1995 Nissan Pathfinder lost control and hit and killed Kay, according to the state patrol.


Farm accident kills Madison man

Sioux Falls, SD -- A Madison man died Saturday after becoming tangled in a piece of farming equipment on a farm near Flandreau. Joseph Bergheim, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene according to a news release from the Moody County Sheriff's Office. Flandreau police, the Moody County Sheriff's Office, ambulance and fire crews responded.


Fort Mill store owner killed in robbery

FORT MILL S.C. -- A Fort Mill store owner who put off retirement and kept working to put his son through college has been killed in a robbery. Mahendrabhai Gordham Omar Patel, 48, was found dead around 8:45 p.m. Thursday by a customer entering the Sunoco Petro Mart on state Highway 160, Fort Mill Police Capt. Bryan Zachary said.

Patel was shot, said York County Coroner Sabrina Gast, who would not say where he was shot or how many times.


Hopewell truck driver dies in King William accident

Richmond, VA -- A Hopewell truck driver was killed Tuesday night when his tractor-trailer crashed into another tractor-trailer backing into a private driveway in King William County, state police said.

According to police, Richard Lee Givin Jr., 63, was driving north on state Route 30 about 9:25 p.m. when he ran into the other truck's trailer just north of state Route 627 near St. John's Episcopal Church.


63-year-old electrician dies after falling six stories

CALVERT CITY Ky. -- A 63-year-old man was killed after falling six stories from a lift he was using to change light bulbs at a metal plant in western Kentucky, officials said Wednesday. James Bains died from blunt force trauma Tuesday, Marshall County Coroner Mitchell Lee said. Bains worked as an electrician at C.C. Metals and Alloys in Paducah, where he also lived.


Construction worker dies after fall in Oakville

OAKVILLE Iowa -- A 37-year-old man died Tuesday while working at a contruction site, officials said. The man, whose identity has not been released, died at about 2:15 p.m. after a fall, according to a statement issued Tuesday night by the Louisa County Sheriff's Department.


Bedford County supervisor killed in farm accident

Shock and sadness spread across Bedford County today as the news spread that County Supervisor Bobby Pollard was killed in a farming accident at his home. It happened early this afternoon at Pollard's farm on Shadow Mountain Lane near Blue Ridge.

County administrator Kathleen Guzi says Pollard was feeding his cattle when his tractor flipped over, killing him. Pollard was finishing his second four-year term as the District Six supervisor; he'd also served on the board during the 1980s.


All lanes open on I-64 after deadly crash

York County , VA -- All lanes are now open on Interstate 64 remains in York County after a deadly crash that claimed the life of a truck driver. Virginia State Police say it happened around midnight near the Busch Gardens exit.

The truck, which was hauling produce, flipped over, blocking the lanes and killing the driver.


Identity of driver killed in Hwy. 97 truck-semi crash released

Bend, OR -- Deputies have released the name of the driver killed in this morning’s crash on Highway 97 near milepost 158, and say that they now believe that icy road conditions may have caused the head-on accident between a flat-bed pickup and semi-truck. The deceased has been identified as Layne J. Fugate, 34, of La Pine, Oregon. His name was earlier withheld pending notification of family members.

Fugate died at the scene of the accident early Monday when his flatbed pickup crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a semi-truck south of Bend on Highway 97, Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies said.


Fatal Farm Accident

WAUSAU, Wis -- A 66-year-old man is dead after falling off a ledge at a dairy farm in the town of Maine. The Marathon County Sheriff's Department says Stanley Skalecke fell off a ledge about 15 to 20 feet high in the barn area of the farm. The Mosinee man owned a heating and cooling business and was doing work at the Van Der Geest dairy farm on Wednesday when the accident happened. A report by the sheriff's office says a pipe that had served as a railing on the ledge was loose.



Work site accident kills man

CHURCHVILLE, VA -- A Churchville man died Thursday from head injuries he received when he fell off a roof at a construction site in Georgia on Jan. 5. Vasily Bondaruk, 48, owner of Bondaruk Construction of Churchville was working on a restaurant in Georgia when he fell off the roof and landed on his head, his daughter Veronika Levshyn said.


Business owner's death brings charge

Grand Rapids, MI -- A man was charged with manslaughter in the death of a Grand Rapids restaurant owner who died more than two weeks after being assaulted outside his business.
Brian C. Williams, 34, surrendered to police Friday, one day after Cheuk Wong died of complications from a skull fracture suffered Dec. 23, police said in a news release.


Highway patrol trooper killed during traffic stop

LAKE PLACID Fla.-- A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was fatally shot Friday while attempting to make a traffic stop in central Florida, authorities said. Sgt. Nicholas G. Sottile II, 48, was shot in Highlands County just north of the city of Lake Placid at 3:22 p.m. Authorities were searching for two occupants of a light colored "Toyota Camry type vehicle," who were last seen leaving the area, one on foot and the other in the vehicle, the FHP said in a statement. One of the two occupants shot Sottile once, the FHP said.

Sottile had worked for the FHP for nearly 24 years. He leaves behind a wife, Elizabeth; a daughter, Heather, of Orlando; and a son Nicholas, of Tampa, who also works for the FHP.


Highway patrol officer killed during traffic stop

FORT MYERS Fla. -- A Florida Highway Patrol officer was fatally shot Friday while attempting to make a traffic stop in central Florida, authorities said. The shooting occurred in Highlands County just north of Lake Placid at 3:15 p.m., and authorities were searching for two suspects who were last seen heading north, The News-Sun in Sebring reported.