Sunday, March 30, 2008

Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

Worker killed in oil rig accident was from Platteville

GREELEY, Colo. - A worker who died of injuries suffered at an oil rig near Platteville was crushed by a flatbed truck backing up to load equipment, said Christine Corrigan of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Denver area office. Christopher Clark, 26, of Platteville, was directing as a truck backed up a ramp when he was crushed between the truck and a platform Thursday at the Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. rig, officials said. An autopsy Friday determined he was struck in his lower chest and suffered damage to major organs, including a ruptured aorta, said Weld County Deputy Coroner Mark Ward. The death was ruled an accident. OSHA and the sheriff's office were investigating. Patterson-UTI Energy Inc., based in Snyder, Texas, did not return phone calls seeking comment.


Man killed in accident at steel plant

SAPULPA, Okla. - Creek County authorities say a 23-year-old man was killed in an industrial accident at a Sapulpa steel company. Creek County Sheriff's Corporal Allen Harwood says Elmer Crane the Third was pronounced dead yesterday at a Tulsa hospital, where he was flown after the incident at Bennett Steel. Harwood says Crane was trying to hook a boom dolly to a crane when the dolly he was standing on rolled out from under him, trapping him between the two pieces of machinery. Harwood says the death is being investigated as an accident.


One Dead after Industrial Accident in Anderson

SC - An Anderson man is dead tonight after being killed at work Saturday morning. Frank Fuller, 45, of Anderson was working at American Concrete and Precast on Bleckely Street when around 9am, the operator of a Bobcat utility tractor ran over Fuller as he walked into the tractor's path. The operator was backing up the tractor when he hit Fuller. Paramedics found Fuller in cardiac arrest and was transported to AnMed where he died about 20 minutes later. According to the coroner, Fuller was talking to another worker who had just arrived to work another tractor when he was hit.


Brooklyn cab driver is shot dead

A Brooklyn man driving an illegal cab was shot in the chest Friday, tumbled from his still-moving car and died in the street, police said. Michelet Duclaire, 37, was cruising through East Flatbush at about 1:30 a.m. when he was attacked, cops said. After the shooting, his Lincoln Town Car rolled about 30 feet before crashing into a parked truck. "I heard noise.... It sounded like people arguing, commotion," said Lydell Hooper, 28, who lives near the scene of the shooting. "I heard a shot fired. It sounded like a firecracker."


Farmer dies when tractor flips into ditch, pinning him

Denver,CO - An eastern Colorado farmer using a tractor to make a firebreak for an out-of-control burn died Wednesday when the tractor's wheels caught the edge of an irrigation ditch, flipped into the ditch and pinned the man. Charles Wynne, 55, of Orchard, was declared dead at the scene, along County Road Y at the Riverside Irrigation Ditch in Morgan County. Sheriff's deputies and members of the Wiggins Fire Department responded to reports Wednesday afternoon of an out- of-control prescribed burn on the property farmed by Wynne. They discovered Wynne's body about an hour after getting the call.


Railroad Worker Struck, Killed By Train, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Employee Hit By Train Near Emporia

EMPORIA, Kan. - A Burlington Northern Santa Fe employee was killed when he was hit by a train just west of Emporia. Lyon County Sheriff's Deputy Garland Hendrickson said an eastbound train struck Salvador Vega, 62, of Ottawa, around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Vega was pronounced dead at the scene. It's unclear what led to the accident. The Sheriff's Department and Burlington Northern police are investigating.


Lawnmower crushes worker on Soda Canyon

Napa,CA - A man died in an industrial accident Thursday afternoon at an Atlas Peak vineyard, according to local law enforcement officials. The victim’s name was not released pending notification of the next of kin. The victim was working under an industrial lawnmower at a site off Soda Canyon Road when the machine fell on his head, CalFire Engineer Chris Batey said. He was declared dead at the scene. The accident occurred at a workshop on a gravel road by the vineyard, Batey said. The call from the 3200 block of Soda Canyon Road came a little before 3 p.m., according to CalFire. A woman who answered the phone at Krupp Brothers Estates, which is listed as being at the address of the incident, declined comment.


Person dies after incident at oil rig near Platteville

Greeley,CO - A man died Thursday morning after an incident at an oil rig near Platteville. The incident occurred at about 8 a.m., according to Margie Martinez, spokeswoman for the Weld County Sheriff's Office, at the site of the rig, located about 1.6 miles east of Weld County Road 31 on 28 near Platteville. The person was transported to North Colorado Medical Center, 1801 16th St. in Greeley, and died at 12:10 p.m. according to Mark Ward, the Weld County Coroner investigating the death. The cause of death is still under investigation, Ward said, however he noted that the person, whose name was not released pending notification of family members, was injured when he became trapped between a vehicle and a piece of equipment. Ward said the man apparently received a blunt trauma injury to the chest.


Gunman Kills Nurse, Employee In Hospital Shooting

COLUMBUS, Ga. - A retired schoolteacher bearing a grudge over his mother's treatment at a Columbus hospital where she died fatally shot a male nurse and another hospital employee Thursday, and then critically wounded another man in the parking lot, authorities said. Police Chief Ricky Boren said 63-year-old Charles Johnston of Columbus was wounded by a detective as he tried to leave the parking lot. Boren said Johnston is being charged with murder and will be turned over to police after an overnight stay in another hospital where he is treated for a shoulder wound. (James David Baker, Pete Wright, Leslie Harris)

Worker at Pepsi Bottling Plant Killed by Truck

Charleston,SC - A worker at the Pepsi bottling plant in Spartanburg County was killed yesterday after a truck rolled on top of him. A mechanic was trying to change a license plate decal at the front of the company-owned truck when it started rolling. Officials say the driver of the truck did not know the mechanic was underneath at the time. A traffic fatality team was sent to the bottling plant to investigate.


Name Released of Man Killed in Pocatello Industrial Accident

Pocatello,ID - The man killed in Tuesday's accident at Pacific Recycling is now known. Forty-nine-year-old Devearl Stowell died around 1:15 Tuesday afternoon when a forklift driver turned a corner and hit him. Stowell leaves behind two children: a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy. He was also engaged to be married in June. So far, funeral arrangements have not been made and the accident is still under investigation.


L.A. firefighter killed in massive explosion

Los Angeles Times, CA - The blast in Westchester blew apart an electrical vault, damaged a nearby building and injured another firefighter and a civilian, officials said. By Bob Pool, Andrew Blankstein and Rich Connell, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers March 27, 2008 One Los Angeles firefighter was killed and another injured Wednesday afternoon in an explosion that rocked a Westchester business district as rescuers were investigating reports of earlier blasts and smoke pouring from buildings. The dead firefighter, who was identified as Brent A. Lovrein, 35, was blown back and possibly hit by building material when an electrical vault blew apart, ripping a gaping hole in an office building at Sepulveda and La Tijera boulevards. The second firefighter, Engineer Anthony J. Guzman, was being treated at UCLA Medical Center for a fractured arm and broken ankle. A civilian received minor injuries as well, officials said.


Coroner says slain gas station employee fought attacker

TOMAHAWK, Wis. (AP) - The Lincoln County coroner says a Tomahawk gas station employee killed during a robbery fought her attacker before she died. Coroner Paul Proulx (PRUE') said after an autopsy was completed yesterday in Madison that the official cause of death was severe blunt head trauma and sharp force injury. The body of 25-year-old Rochelle Anderson of Irma was found Saturday night by a Tomahawk police officer behind the Zephyr Fuel gas and convenience store where she worked. Proulx says there were multiple apparent knife wounds to Anderson's back, and she sustained injuries to both arms that were consistent with a struggle.


Postal worker dies in Bedford Park crash

A U.S. Postal Service employee died Tuesday night after her truck ran into a tree in Bedford Park, police said. The crash occurred about 2 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Major Avenue, a Bedford Park police dispatcher said. Vicki Meilicke, a 911 operator at the Bedford Park Police Department, said witness accounts reported the employee was speeding, but Meilicke did not know how fast. The postal worker was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, said Mark Reynolds, a spokesman for the Postal Service.


2 Construction Workers Killed In Crash

Winter Park,FL - Two men a father and son – were killed Tuesday morning along the Turnpike near U.S. Highway 301. Luis Jimenez, 49, and his son, Edward Jimenez, 24, were working on guard rails on when a car travelling on the turnpike made a lane change, clipped a semi truck and skidded into the workers, killing them both, investigators said. Experts said highway construction is a dangerous job -- especially in Florida


Police Name Man Killed in Forklift Accident

Idaho Falls,ID - Pocatello Police have released the name of the man killed in a forklift accident Tuesday afternoon. Police say 49 year-old Devearl Stowell died he was working around some heavy equipment. At about 1 pm, emergency responders received a phone call of a Pacific Recycling employee stuck under a forklift. "911 received a phone call of an accident at here at Pacific Recycling. A man that had been injured -- working around some heavy equipment so they sent out some ambulance personnel and the rescue trucks from the fire department," said Detective Sgt. Walker, Pocatello Police Department. Walker said the emergency response personnel attempted to resuscitate the Stowell. However, he was pronounced dead before being taken to the hospital.


Worker Killed When JTA Bus Hits Bucket Truck

JACKSONVILLE, FL - A JTA bus slammed into a bucket truck, sending a city worker to his death Tuesday afternoon. The deadly collision happened on Commonwealth Avenue near Melson. The bus hit the back end of a bucket truck whose crew had stopped to fix the light on a traffic signal. The impact knocked the worker out of the bucket and onto the street below. The worker has been identified as 55-year-old Cesar Renaldo Solomon. Police say the bucket truck had followed all safety procedures. Investigators don't know why the bus driver ran into the bucket truck despite the truck's flashing warning lights and a worker on the ground directing traffic. He managed to jump out of the way of the oncoming bus. "As you can imagine he's shaken, this has been a very traumatic situation," said JSO spokesperson Ken Jefferson. "This was his co-worker."


Worker Killed In Banning Trench Collapse

BANNING, Calif. - A construction worker (Martin Samaniego, 37) was killed Tuesday when a trench collapsed and buried him in about 10 feet of dirt. A smaller cave-in occurred hours later as crews began trying to recover his body, a fire captain said. The accident on West Ramsey Street was reported at 10:44 a.m., according to the Riverside County Fire Department. When firefighters arrived, only one of the man's shoulders was visible and a paramedic lowered on a rope detected no vital signs, Captain Lori Hutchinson said. "They were able to utilize some of the paramedic equipment and put a monitor on him," Hutchinson said. "When our units arrived ... there was still dirt falling into the hole... the dirt just continued to collapse." Fire crews worked to shore up the trench, which was on a 40 percent slope, to prevent further collapses and recover the worker's body.


Crane Topples in Miami; 2 Killed, 4 Hurt

MIAMI — A crane collapsed Tuesday at the construction site of a high-rise condominium, killing two workers, injuring four and smashing into a home that the contractor had been using as an office, police said. Authorities were checking employee logs to make sure no workers were missing. But an initial survey by rescue workers and dogs found no evidence of victims trapped at the site of the 40-plus-story luxury condo tower on Biscayne Bay, said Miami police spokesman Delrish Moss. Fire officials said rescue efforts were hampered because the crane remained unstable. David Martinez, 31, a Miami pipe-fitter, was on the fourth floor of the condo tower eating lunch when the crash occurred. "It was like a small earthquake," he said. "We looked outside, and we couldn't even see." It took several minutes for the dust to clear, Martinez said. Officials were unsure how the crane fell.


Sparks Police Officer dies on the job

Sparks, GA - The Sparks Police Department is mourning the loss of one of their own. 53-year-old Robert Lloyd died while on patrol Easter Sunday. The police chief says Lloyd stopped by a friend's house Sunday evening where he died from a massive heart attack. The department says he was an outstanding officer and will be hard to replace. "Big shoes to fill. Real big shoes. Like I said, he was very dependable. Just a hard to find type officer these days and time," says Police Chief Marty Stafford.


Steelworker dies in accident

EAST CHICAGO, IL Steelworker James Wingfield was fatally crushed at ArcelorMittal's Indiana Harbor plant about 10 a.m. Monday. Wingfield, 55, of Munster, was working at the No. 4 basic oxygen furnace on the east side of the plant when he was crushed by a tundish cover, said Jim Robinson, United Steelworkers Distinct 7 director. Wingfield was a mechanic at the mill and member of USW Local 1010, Robinson said. A tundish distributes molten steel from the ladle into the mold in the caster, Robinson said. A joint management/union safety investigation began immediately after the accident, company spokesman David Allen said.


4 Die Before Commercial Fishing Vessel Sinks in the Aleutians

SEATTLE — Four people died Sunday off the coast of Alaska when a commercial fishing boat carrying 47 people began sinking west of the remote port town of Dutch Harbor, officials with the Coast Guard said. Forty-two people were rescued by the Coast Guard about 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor, in the Aleutian Islands. One person remained missing on Sunday afternoon, and a search was being conducted with helicopters and a C-130 plane, officials said. One of the four died in the rescue operation, they said. The authorities on Sunday had not released the names of the four people who died or the missing person.


Harvest Worker Found Dead at Company Site

Lakeland,F - The owner of a harvesting company found one of his workers shot to death in Fort Meade on Saturday, the Sheriff's Office said. About 2:30 p.m., Jose Gracia, owner of Jose Gracia Harvesting Company at 910 Rhoden Loop West in Fort Meade, found the body of Estevan Valdez on company property. Valdez is thought to be 75 years old. His body was laying in front of the travel trailer where he lived. He had worked with the company and lived in the trailer for 18 years, said Gracia's daughter, Brenda Rodriguez. She said Valdez's death has been hard for the family because they knew him for so long. Gracia could not be reached for comment because he was still at the Rhoden Loop address, Rodriguez said.


Virginia's Massey Energy is in trouble over a fatal West Virginia coal mine accident.

Harrisonburg,VA - The Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training cited the Richmond, Virginia, company for violations investigators say contributed to Dixie resident David Neal's death. The 57-year-old miner was repairing a conveyor belt at a Kanawha County mine and fell approximately 39 feet when the belt started unexpectedly. Neal died ten days after the December 4 accident. Inspector Clarence Dishmon says Massey was cited because an alarm designed to sound when the belt starts was broken and Neal wasn't using a safety harness. Massey also was cited because the power to the belt wasn't turned off and because there was no way for a non-electrician to shut it off. Massey had no immediate comment.


Construction worker falls to his death at WSU site

DETROIT, MI --A 19-year-old (Scott Austin Junior) construction worker fell to his death this afternoon while working on the construction of an apartment complex near Wayne State University on Woodward near Forest, police said. The victim, who has not yet been identified by police, was working on the fifth floor and fell to his death in the complex's elevator shaft. The incident occurred around 2 p.m., said Detroit Police spokeswoman Eren Stephens-Bell. The man is from the Jackson area, said Wayne State University Public Safety Director Tony Holt. The victim was dead on arrival to Detroit Receiving Hospital, said Holt.


Search for missing landfill worker continues; images haunt husband

Birmingham,AL - Friends, family grieve for missing woman Saturday, March 22, 2008CAROL ROBINSONNews staff writer Eric Roney fears the worst: that Patricia Willis, his common-law wife of 12 years, fell into the Eastern Area Landfill and was crushed by the heavy equipment there. "It's really hard for me to see her in that situation, something smashing and packing and running over her," Roney said Friday. "I have not slept in three days, or eaten much." Public Works employee Patricia Willis, 42, was last seen about 11 a.m. Tuesday, and co-workers reported her missing two hours later...Searchers on Wednesday night recovered parts of a human body, which are at the Jefferson County coroner's office where they will be tested for DNA. Coroner's officials said it could be several weeks before a determination is made whether the remains belong to Willis. Officials announced late Friday the discovery of additional remains and said the search was being suspended. The latest remains were sent to the coroner's office for testing to determine if they were indeed human and possibly those of Willis. "They're not saying it's her," Roney said, "but I really believe it's her."


Trench collapse kills 3 workers

Trio buried under eight feet of dirt, wet clay; safety devices missing from area. No required safety devices were in a collapsed trench that killed three workers Friday morning at the Hattiesburg-Forrest County Industrial Park, Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict said. Killed in the collapse were Leonardo Navarro Diaz, 30, of Sumrall; Brandon Edward Rathbone, 19, of Hattiesburg; and Wayne Dale Kelly, 55, of Columbia. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials will lead the investigation into the accident. The investigation could take up to six months, said Clyde Payne, area director for the Jackson-area office of OSHA.
Subcontractor American Air Specialists employed the men, said Robert Pickering, Hattiesburg Fire Department battalion chief. Company officials issued no comment.
Officials say the workers were connecting sewer lines at the new Sam's Club distribution center under construction around 10:30 a.m. when the cave-in occurred.
The men were buried under about eight feet of dirt and wet clay, city officials said.
The Hattiesburg Fire Department, Hattiesburg Police Department, Hattiesburg Public Works Department, Forrest County Emergency Services and a joint crime scene investigative unit all responded.
The crime scene unit was there to take photographs and document the incident.
The victims suffocated and probably died in a "short period of time," said John Brown, city of Hattiesburg spokesman. All three men died from asphyxiation, Benedict said.
The clay wall of the trench had to be reinforced before the bodies could be removed. Public works crews used a backhoe and firefighters used planks of plywood to hold the dirt and clay in place. All three bodies were retrieved by about 1 p.m.
Pickering said American Air Specialists would have been responsible for safety precautions at the site. He did not know what, if any, precautions, were taken.
Saddle Creek Corp., based in Lakeland, Fla., owns the property where the distribution center is being built. The company specializes in distribution and logistics and will operate the facility. "Obviously, we are as stunned and horrified as everyone in Hattiesburg," said Cliff Otto, president of Saddle Creek. Angie Godwin, president of the Area Development Partnership, said the site had been a scene of great celebration recently during the distribution center's ground breaking. This is the second collapse in the Pine Belt this month. On March 13, a construction accident in Lamar County sent a 38-year-old Purvis man to Forrest General Hospital, Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel said in a previous report.Rigel said several construction workers had been in a ditch building a form to pour concrete on Lois Lane off Sandy Run Road, when a wall of the ditch collapsed.


Jackson area man killed in construction accident

MI - Police say a Jackson area man died after falling from the fifth floor of an apartment building on the Wayne State University campus. The 19-year-old man, who was part of a construction crew, fell down an air shaft Friday afternoon, Campus Police Chief said he was told by Detroit Police. His name has not been released. Houseman Construction of Grand Rapids is the construction manager for the project. Owner Michael Houseman said the victim was employed by a subcontractor on the project. Houseman says the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified.


Cop, 38, found dead after call for backup

NORWALK — City police, the FBI and the State Police Major Crime Squad spent the day Friday trying to figure out how city police Officer Matthew Morelli, 38, was shot and killed in a church parking lot in South Norwalk early Friday morning. For more than 13 hours, state police investigated the parking lot off Lubrano Place and the surrounding area before taking Morelli's body to state chief medical examiner's office in Farmington. Police and city officials said a rifle, described either as an AK-47 or older, military-style rifle, was found immediately next to, or under, Morelli's body when police found him lying in the Calvary Reformed Church parking lot.


Sanitation Worker Dies After Being Pinned To Garbage Truck

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A Madison County sanitation who was injured when he was struck by a car on the job last Friday died of his injuries this afternoon at Huntsville Hospital. A Huntsville lawyer has filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of the sanitation worker, Scott Alan Mitchell, against the driver of the car that hit him, Angela Egle of Huntsville, The Huntsville Times reported. Mitchell, who was 43, was hit when he stepped from the back of a garbage truck to get a garbage can around 8:30 a.m. last Friday Both his legs were severed from his body when he was pinned to the back of the truck. County Commissioner Bob Harrison oversees the sanitation department. He said Mitchell was taken off life support around 11 a.m. today and died around 2 p.m. He had been in the surgical intensive care unit since the accident.


Worker dies following industrial accident in Perrysburg

Toledo,OH - A machine worker died after he was injured at a Perrysburg industrial shop Thursday evening, authorities said. Jeffrey Pierce, 36, of Perrysburg, was treated at the scene and then flown by air ambulance to the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Perrysburg police said. The cause of death is pending an autopsy scheduled at the Lucas County Coroner’s Office, they said. Mr. Pierce was at a work station when he was injured, according to the police report. OSHA officials and Perrysburg police Friday refused to detail the circumstances of what the police report says was an industrial accident at Jerl Machine Inc., 11140 Avenue Rd., citing an unfinished investigation.


Worker Killed in Accident at Citrosuco Plant

Lakeland,FL - A 42-year-old Waverly man died Wednesday after an industrial accident at the Citrosuco North America plant. Eddie L. Batson, 42, was working on a piece of equipment at the plant, which is east of Lake Wales on State Road 60, when a large object, possibly a motor, fell on top of the victim landing on his chest, said Carrie Rodgers, Polk County Sheriff's spokeswoman. Nick Emanuel, president of Citrosuco, said he could not discuss specific details because the investigation is not complete.


Keystone worker killed in accident, 61-year-old Morton man dies on job when crane tips over

Peoria,IL - A longtime Keystone Steel & Wire Co. employee was killed Thursday morning after he was crushed when a crane he was operating tipped over.
About 8 a.m., Edward R. Schimmelpfennig, 61, was unloading steel from a flatbed truck in a scrap yard at the Bartonville plant when his crane fell on its side, according to Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll. The glass-enclosed cab of the crane was crushed, killing the Morton man almost instantly. The truck and its driver were not hit when the crane keeled over. Ingersoll said Schimmelpfennig used the crane to lift two steel plates, likely weighing several thousand pounds. She had not determined Thursday if the weight caused the crane to tip.


Moneta man dies in construction accident

Lynchburg,VA - A Moneta man died en route to the hospital Wednesday after a fall from scaffolding inside a building at a construction site off Virginia 122, deputies said. Donald Lee Patrick, 51, an employee of Riverview Plumbing and Heating Inc. in Gretna, was doing some caulking work inside one of the buildings at the Downtown Moneta development at the intersection of Moneta and Whitehouse roads, said Maj. Ricky Gardner of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. Patrick was working alone in the room. A co-worker walked past and saw him on the ground with the scaffolding next to him and called 911, Gardner said. The accident is under investigation by the state Department of Labor. The construction work is being contracted through J.E. Jamerson & Sons. Riverview Plumbing is one of the subcontractors on the project. Phillip Jamerson, president of J.E. Jamerson & Sons, said Patrick’s first day on the job was Wednesday. Patrick was standing on scaffolding that was only six or seven feet off the ground, and struck his head on the concrete floor in the fall.




VA. TRAGEDY: Man kills 2 apartment workers, wounds 3 before kiling himself

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — A man opened fire on workers coming to inspect the apartment his mother had been ordered to leave, killing two and wounding three before committing suicide, authorities said Thursday. William T. Smith opened the door Wednesday afternoon at the Thalia Gardens complex and began shooting with an AK-47 assault rifle and a Mac 10 9mm semiautomatic handgun, police spokeswoman Margie Long said. One person was in critical condition Thursday evening and the other two were listed as stable, police spokesman Adam Bernstein said....Smith, 52, fatally shot 63-year-old maintenance technician Sam Shestul inside the two-story brick apartment building, Long said. The other workers ran outside but Smith followed them, still shooting, she said. Officers arrived to find maintenance technician Rebecca Diane Hughes, 32, dead in the parking lot and three injured people. Most of the victims were shot multiple times and none had been armed, Long said.


Worker dies in accident at Yakima Training Center

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A civilian employee at the Yakima Training Center died Wednesday from severe head injuries after falling from the back of a pickup, authorities said. Duane Cunningham, 49, of Selah was declared dead at Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center about 2 p.m. after a military helicopter flew him from the training center. Cunningham had been an electrician since 1982 at the Yakima Research Station, said a friend and co-worker who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the facility's work.


AHTD worker dies

Batesville,AR — A state highway department employee died Wednesday after he got caught between flooded roads near Oil Trough, creating difficulties for those trying to get to him. Russell Hightower, 54, had been with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for more than 20 years. Hightower was in area main supervisor Rickie Sharp’s crew. The two had known each other since high school, although they attended different schools. Hightower grew up at Southside, the son of the late Ralph and Freidtha Hightower. His dad had a fur business, trapping animals, and also a feed business for which Hightower would make deliveries. Hightower and his wife, Judy, have a son, Justin, who is to graduate from Southside High School this year. “He and the boy enjoyed hunting and fishing together,” Sharp said. “Russell would take off on his birthday in December and go trout fishing.”...Then, he became partially trapped by the flooded roads, in the vicinity of Buzzard Roost Road and Meade Lane. “I suspect he had a heart attack and drove into a ditch because his truck was partially submerged,” Sharp said. Sheriff’s Deputy Shawn Stephens, who responded to the call, said emergency personnel from Batesville couldn’t get to Hightower because of the high waters.


Northrop employee dies of injuries

PASCAGOULA, MS --A Northrop Grumman Ship Systems employee died today of injuries he sustained on the job on March 12. Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus said Ray Anthony Graham, 48, of Moss Point, was pronounced dead at 10:48 a.m. at Singing River Hospital. She said Graham died of blunt force trauma to the head. So far, Northrop Grumman officials have released little information about the incident other than to confirm that an employee had been injured on the job and was in critical condition immediately after the accident. Graham remained hospitalized in critical condition until he passed away. The circumstances surrounding the fall have not been released.


Rockingham County farmer killed when tractor flips

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Authorities say a Rockingham County man was killed on his farm when a tractor rolled over on him. Police said 45-year-old Wallace Morgan Brown died at the scene on his family-owned farm Wednesday morning. Sergeant Felicia Glick with the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office said Brown was pulling a tree and the tractor flipped backward. Glick said it was the county's first farm-related fatality this year. One-third of the 22 farm-related deaths in Virginia occurred in Rockingham County last year.


Worker Killed At Ipsco Steel

MONTPELIER, Iowa - One person is dead after falling nearly 60 feet from a crane at Ipsco Steel in Montpelier. A spokeswoman for the Lisle, Ill-based company says the 41-year-old man (Robert Eby), died Wednesday morning. His name wasn't immediately released. Spokeswoman Kelly Brossart says the man worked at Ipsco for seven years. She says the plant was shut down to allow authorities to investigate the accident. Grief counselors were called in to meet with employees.


Man dies in landscaping accident

WOODBURY, NJ - A 20-year-old Woodlyne man died in a landscaping accident at the former home of the Vallee & Bowe car dealership Tuesday afternoon while landscaping crews cleared out a wooded portion of the lot. The unidentified man was leaning into a small Bobcat backhoe in an attempt to talk to a co-worker when his head was struck by a moving portion of the construction vehicle.


Man is killed in tree-cutting accident

Allentown,PA - A man working in a field Monday in Moore Township was hit in the head with a tree and killed, Northampton County coroner Zachary Lysek said. John Brixius, 56, of the 2200 block of Neffs Laurys Road in North Whitehall Township, died at the scene of the accident, Lysek said. He ruled the cause of death blunt force trauma to the head. Brixius was working just after 4 p.m. with another employee of the Jaindl Cos. clearing trees from the field near W. Bannersville and E. Beersville roads, Lysek said. He said Brixius used a chain saw to cut a tree. The tree flew into the air and came down on Brixius' head, Lysek said.


Crash on U.S. 65 killed MoDOT worker

Springfield,MO - A Missouri Department of Transportation worker died early Tuesday in a crash that closed U.S. 65 between Springfield and Fair Grove. Joshua Slatten, 21, of Springfield was northbound in a MoDOT truck about 5:15 a.m. when he collided head-on with a southbound tractor-trailer truck driven by Robert Christian of DeSoto.
Slatten died at the scene. An ambulance took Christian to a hospital in Springfield. The Missouri State Highway Patrol will reconstruct the accident. The crash team hasn't determined how it happened. Rain was coming down hard at the time. Both vehicles are badly damaged.


Worker Killed By Falling Mud, Sump Mud From Dump Truck Buried Man

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A worker who was dumping sump mud at a Kern County facility was buried and killed Monday, according to the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Benjamin Rutledge was dumping sump mud at the Kern County maintenance yard in northeast bakersfield when he somehow got buried. It took several hours before coworkers with Golden State Construction realized he was missing. When his boss started digging through the mud looking for him, he found Rutledge's boot and called 911. Cal-Osha is investigating the accident. The incident happened at the Kern County Road Facility south of Taft Highway, but the man was not a county employee, according to county fire officials. He was dumping the sump mud at the county facility temporarily.


Employee killed in workplace dispute

Phoenix,AZ - A dispute between two employees turned deadly this morning at a North Valley horse boarding and training facility. Phoenix police say one worker shot another several times near outdoor horse pens at Lone Mountain Ranch. The facility is located near Cave Creek Road, just north of the Loop 101. Police say they are looking for the alleged shooter, a man about 50 years old who uses the name Jose Delgado. He was seen leaving the business about 9 a.m. in a white, older model Chevy sedan with chipped paint on the back. Police are not releasing the victim's name. He was unarmed. Police say the two men didn't get along and had an ongoing dispute, it's unclear what happened right before the shooting.


Worker killed while moving mobile home

Davenport,IA - A Missouri man was killed Monday while trying to help move a mobile home in the Cloverleaf Trailer Park, Moline. Leroy Allen, 44, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., which is south of St. Louis, was crushed by the mobile home while workers were trying to put wheels under it, said Rock Island County Chief Deputy Coroner Brian Gustafson. Allen worked for Cole Homes of Naylor, Mo., Gustafson said. The incident happened about noon at 3403 45th Ave., Moline. An autopsy will be conducted today, and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating, authorities said.


Cab Driver Killed In St. Elmo On Sunday Night

Chattanooga,TN - A taxi driver was killed in St. Elmo on Sunday night in an apparent attempted robbery. The victim was identified as James Fleming Jr., 53. Police said Mr. Fleming was dropping off a passenger at 1405 West 44th St. when the passenger pulled a pistol and demanded money from him. When Mr. Fleming refused and tried to drive off, the passenger fired two shots into the cab and ran from the area. The cab went a short distance after striking a parked car and came to rest after hitting a garage. Police found the victim fatally wounded from the gunshot.


Another Arkansas Worker Killed on Job


MS - James Ivy, 29, of Etowah, died instantly at the Tenaris Hickman plant in Armorel this morning when the pipe he was loading on a rail car rolled back and crushed him against a backstop. This is the third fatal industrial accident in Mississippi County, Arkansas, in less than three months. The toll of workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths remains unacceptably high. Each year, thousands of workers are killed, and millions more are injured or contract preventable diseases on the job. The state legislature is eager to provide millions of dollars in tax exemptions and direct subsidies for business and industry in the name "economic development," but a majority of our legislators and the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce oppose any improvement or expansion of the Workers' Compensation law to cover medical expenses for workers injured on the job.


Washington man dies in St. George semi accident

Spokane, Wash. - A Spokane, Wash. man was killed Friday when he was crushed between two semi trucks at a truck stop in St. George. A police officer said that Robert Miles Snow, 52, a new driver in with one week to go in his training, was stepping out of his rig at the Flying J stop at 2341 S. 60 East when the driver of a second truck, which had been parked to the right of Snow's rig, began to pull forward and turn right. Snow was struck by the truck and run over. Investigators concluded that driver error caused the incident, but did not issue any citations because the incident occured on private property.


Witnesses recount deadly crash of Lantana-based plane

Fort Lauderdale, FL - David Bruner looked up and noticed a single-engine plane meandering oddly through the sky, flying so slow it barely stayed aloft as it passed over a Martin County cow pasture. Suddenly, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk went into a nose dive Thursday morning, turning as its right wing hit the ground, and the plane flipped over. "The engine started on fire, so I started stomping," said Bruner, 54, of Stuart. "I didn't have anything but my feet, so I stomped the fire out on the engine, got it out temporarily, but then it ignited again."Cox was already familiar with the company that operated the aircraft, and pilot Jeff Rozelle, 36, the manager of Kemper Aviation. Rozelle died in Thursday's crash.The other crash victims were identified as Gareth Akerman, 36, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, an ornithologist working at FAU; Damion Marx, 35, an FAU student working on his Ph.D. in integrative biology; and Phil Heidemann, 43, a master's student at FAU from Boca Raton.


13th Sugar Refinery Worker Dies

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Officials say another burn patient has died of injuries suffered in an explosion and fire at a sugar refinery, bringing the death toll to 13. A little more than a month after the February 7th blast at the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth, six other patients remained Friday in critical condition at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta. Four are in serious condition. A hospital spokeswoman says an 11th patient died Friday. The patient's name was not released. Investigators have said the explosion was fueled by airborne sugar dust at the refinery, near Savannah. They have not yet determined what ignited it.


Man killed after 500-pound steel plate falls on him at Willoughby company

WILLOUGHBY, OH- A longtime employee of the Reighart Steel Company on Elm Street was killed this morning. The Willoughby Fire Department's rescue squad took the 61-year-old man to Lake West Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Willoughby fire officials say the employee was moving a piece of steel plate next to a machine that bends steel when the plate fell on him. Witnesses say that right after the accident, the man was cold to the touch and was in full arrest with a heart attack. Willoughby police are now investigating the incident. The man's name was not disclosed because next of kin has not been notified. Stay tuned to Channel 3 News and wkyc.com for further updates


Construction worker in Charlestown struck and killed

CHARLESTOWN, Ind. - A day on the job turned deadly for a highway construction worker in Charlestown, Indiana Friday morning after he was struck and killed by a woman taking her children to school. WAVE 3's Lindsay English has the details. According to police, about 7:50 a.m. 45-year-old Ralph Lund from Clarington, Ohio had stopped eastbound traffic at Highway 62 and Salem Church Road when he apparently stepped into westbound traffic. Lund was taken to St. Catherine's Hospital, but died from his injuries. Police say it doesn't appear speed was a factor, and that the woman who struck Lund lives about a thousand feet from the accident scene.


POLICE NEWS: Man killed at landfill

Waco,TX - A Central Texas man was killed Friday afternoon when he was hit by equipment at a landfill, police said. John Leisen, 51, of Belton, was killed shortly after noon at the city of Temple landfill, a Temple Police Department release stated. A private contractor’s employee allegedly accidentally struck Leisen while operating equipment at the landfill, the release stated. No other details were released in the investigation. Bell County Judge David Barfield ordered the body sent for autopsy.


Industrial accident kills worker

Wabash, IN - Thermafiber LLC at the west edge of Wabash was closed Friday while a plant accident investigation team probed a death in the plant Thursday afternoon. Terry D. Walk, 58, Wabash, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. An autopsy at Wabash County Hospital just hours after the death confirmed that. He was a maintenance man at the plant. How he inhaled the deadly gas is yet to be determined. An investigator from the Indiana Office of Safety and Health Administration, a state agency, is being sent to investigate the accident also. "Our prayers go out to Terry's family," said Thermafiber president Steve Edris. Walk, he noted, had been en employee at Thermafiber for 41 years.


Fatal crane collapse adds to N.Y. construction death toll

NEW YORK — Seven people were killed in mid-Manhattan March 15 when a crane 19 stories high collapsed and crashed into buildings as far as a block away. The collapse occurred as workers were attempting to raise the height of the crane, an operation called “jumping.” Five of those killed were construction workers who were members of Local 15 of the Operating Engineers Union. They were Wayne Bleidner, 51; Brad Cohen, 54; Anthony Mazza, 39; Aaron Stephens, 45; and Clifford Canzona, 45. One construction supervisor, Santino Gallone, 37, also died, as did a tourist, Odin Torres, 28. As soon as word spread about the collapse, construction workers from many other sites in the city came to the scene. Many maintained a vigil as rescue workers searched for victims in the debris. The city buildings department had received 32 complaints since December about safety at the construction site and had issued 13 violations, 10 against one contractor, Reliance Construction Group. The violations included failure to safeguard the public and property, and failure to provide roof protection on adjacent property. As recently as March 4, a retired engineer had filed a complaint with the city that the crane was not braced to the building and that the upper 100 feet was “unsecured.” But an inspector found no violation and ruled that the crane was erected properly.


1 dead, 2 injured after train hits workers in Providence

Boston - One person was killed and two others were injured in Providence this afternoon when a northbound Amtrak train hit workers who were inspecting tracks, according to an Amtrak spokesman. The Boston-bound high-speed Acela train was just north of downtown Providence at 1:15 p.m. when it hit the workers, said spokesman Cliff Cole. Two of the workers were Amtrak employees, and the third was a contractor. The two workers who were injured were rushed to a local hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available. Train number 2154 had begun its journey in Washington, D.C., and had 162 passengers and six employees on board, Cole said. The train was traveling below the 55 mph speed limit authorized for the area, he said.


Construction accident kills 21-year-old worker

Minneapolis,MN - A 21-year-old man has died in western Minnesota from injuries he suffered in a residential construction accident, authorities said. Shane M. Buse, of Brandon, Minn., was on a platform Friday in Kensington, Minn., when it started tipping and struck Buse in the head. He died the next day at the Hennepin County Medical Center. State occupational safety officials and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office are investigating the accident. Buse was a crew foreman in the family's construction business.


Worker dies after fall at Great America

Chicago,IL - A Wisconsin man fell to his death while dismantling a water ride at Six Flags Great America Tuesday, officials said. Thomas Lee, 46, of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, was working on the Splash Water Falls ride Tuesday morning when he plunged about 50 feet to his death, hitting part of the ride on the way down, Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller said. Lee was taken in critical condition to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville just after 9 a.m., Gurnee Fire Battalion Chief Bob Heraver said. Lee died around 9:40 a.m. of head and chest injuries suffered from the fall, Keller said.


Richmond bail bondsman killed on the job laid to rest

Richmond,VA - A Richmond bail bondsman killed on the job was laid to rest Tuesday. Hundreds of family and friends honored the life of 39-year-old James Woolfolk. His funeral was Tuesday afternoon at Cedar Street Church of God in Church Hill. Woolfolk was shot and killed last week while tracking down a man who hadn't shown up for court. Authorities say that man, James Carr, 20, has admitted to shooting Woolfolk from behind three times. Woolfolk is described as a kind and loving person. In addition to working three jobs, he was also attending college. The man Woolfolk was trying to find, Carr, is charged with his murder.


3 killed in McComb; suspect shoots himself

Hattiesburg,MS - Three people are dead and one is critically injured following an attack and kidnapping at a downtown McComb bank. McComb Police Chief Billie Hughes said a man entered the main office of Regions Bank on Main Street looking for his ex-wife, a bank employee. The man shot a male bank employee and a male customer and then forced his ex-wife into his truck We received the first call of shots fired just after 11 a.m.,” Hughes said. “While we were at the bank, someone called in about finding the wife’s body.” The wife was lying on the side of U.S. 51 about four miles south of McComb in the town of Fernwood. Hughes said he did not know how she was killed but assumed she had also been shot. About 15 minutes later, law enforcement received a call about a wreck on Pruitt Street in Magnolia.


Contract worker killed at Exxon

Baton Rouge,LA - A Pala-Interstate LCC contractor was killed Tuesday while working with a pipe in a tank lot at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge refinery, company officials said. The accident happened about 3:30 p.m. at the refinery, 4045 Scenic Highway, said George Pietrogallo, a spokesman for ExxonMobil. The man, (Oscar Green, 59,) whose was not identified pending notification of his family, was immediately tended to by ExxonMobil personnel, Pietrogallo said. Emergency Medical Services took the man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, he said. “We are greatly saddened by this incident and express our deepest sympathy to the family and his co-workers,” ExxonMobil Refinery Manager Stan Vanderleeuw said in a statement. “We have notified the appropriate authorities and are working with them at the site to investigate the cause of the incident.” The fatality is the first at the Baton Rouge refinery since 1993, Pietrogallo said.


Tow truck worker killed while pulling car from ditch

Ann Arbor,MI - Police say driver he was helping and driver who hit him both drinking Monday, March. A tow truck driver who was winching a vehicle from a ditch was killed early Sunday when he was struck by a drunken driver who drove through flares and past a police car with its emergency lights on, state police said. Michael Johnston, a driver for Sakstrup's Towing Service, was working on westbound I-94 at the end of the ramp from southbound US-23 about 3:20 a.m. when he was struck, state troopers from the Ypsilanti Post, said. Johnston, 46, lived in Ann Arbor. It was the second death of an emergency worker on Washtenaw County freeways this year, and the third in two years.


UPDATE: Truck driver dead in I-35 crash

Des Moines,IA - The driver of a semitrailer that crashed south of Des Moines this morning was killed in the incident. He was identified as Manuel Johnson, 42, of St. Louis, Mo. The Iowa State Patrol said the truck was headed southbound at the Middle River Bridge when it drifted off the road, crashed through the guard rail and went over the side of the bridge. The semi cab caught on fire. Officials said they do not know what caused Johnson to leave the roadway. The cab was considered a total loss. The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by several area fire departments and rescue units. The time of the accident now is listed as 2:41 a.m. Iowa State Patrol dispatchers said investigators are on the scene at mile marker 56 near Bevington and Martensdale.


Met-Ed worker killed working on downed line

Allentown,PA - A 43-year-old Metropolitan Edison Co. employee died Sunday after coming into contact with a high voltage power line while working in Durham Township, the Lehigh County Coroner's office said. Timothy Edwards of Forks Township was pronounced dead at 7:31 p.m. Sunday at St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill, about an hour after the incident, state police at Dublin said. Lehigh County Coroner Scott M. Grim said Edwards was electrocuted. He ruled the death an accident. Grim said Edwards was working at Route 611 and Lehnenberg Road about 6:30 p.m. when he came in contact with the power line. Edwards was taken by helicopter to the hospital.


Benton man suffers fatal injuries in trench collapse

West Frankfort,IL — Two construction workers, including one from the Benton area, were killed Monday afternoon when a trench in which they were working collapsed and buried them under tons of clay and dirt. The two workers — identified by St. Clair County Coroner Bob Shay as Walter Tom Eickelman, 48, of rural Benton, and Ron Yankey of Ellis Grove — were working on a sewer line extension project in the growing St. Clair County community of Millstadt. Yankey's age was not immediately available, Shay said. They were employed by Midwest Petroleum and Excavating, Inc., of Benton, according to the coroner Shay said one of the two men was in the trench when the walls started to collapse, trapping him waist-deep in the dirt. The other man reportedly tried unsuccessfully to rescue his co-worker. "It just caved in," Shay said. Shay said he was told by one of the men's co-workers that a safety cage had not been placed in the trench before the collapse occurred.


Kodak employee dies from injuries; plant's 1st fatality in 40 years

Denver,CO - A 17-year Kodak employee died early Tuesday from injuries he suffered in a job-related accident early Saturday. He is believed to be the first employee fatality at the Kodak plant since it opened nearly 40 years ago. Kodak Site Manager Rob Gray confirmed Tuesday that Jeffrey Dyrud had died. Gray said he received the information about Dyrud after calling the Medical Center of the Rockies early Tuesday to check on his condition. Gray said Dyrud, who worked in the plate manufacturing building, C-60, was injured around 7 a.m. Saturday while working with a machine that winds aluminum webs onto a fiber core for lithographic printing plates. Gray said he could not discuss how Dyrud was injured. He said Kodak is assisting OSHA officials with an investigation into the accident.


Funeral services held for Lighthorse police officer

MADILL, Okla. - Law enforcement from across Oklahoma said their final farewell to a fallen comrade on Wednesday. Hundreds of police cars lined the streets near the Watts Funeral Home as family and friends joined to honor Lighthorse police officer Robert Patrick Flickinger. Flickinger was killed over the weekend in a car accident near Madill. He is remembered as a family man who loved his community. "He was a good Christian man who would do anything for his community," family member Brandon Burchfield said. In addition to his more than 15 years of law enforcement experience, Flickinger was also a veteran of the Unites States Navy and graduate of the FBI National Academy. Flickinger, 37, was a special agent with the Lighthorse Police, the law enforcement agency of the Chickasaw Nation. Flickinger was pronounced dead at the scene after authorities say he was pinned in his vehicle following a head-on collision with another vehicle.


Man Killed After Falling From Moving Pick-up

MOUNT PLEASANT, Tenn. - A Mount Pleasant public works employee died after falling out of a moving pick-up truck Monday. Doyle Smith, age 42, was apparently moving a mattress on his lunch break. He was in the bed of a public works pick-up truck, sitting on top of the mattress. Both Smith and the mattress flipped off the truck as it drove on East Main Street. Smith hit his head on the road. Officials claimed high winds were responsible for Smith's death. "He was on top of the mattress to hold the mattress down, and then the wind just flipped the mattress with him on top out of the truck," said Mount Pleasant Police Chief Tom Wilson.


After N.Y. killing, therapists rethink safety practices

NEW YORK - Since a psychologist was hacked to death in her upper East Side office in February by a mentally unstable man wielding a meat cleaver, therapists across this city have been re-evaluating their safety practices as they confront risks inherent in their profession. "Anybody who goes into this business knows there is a possibility that something could happen," said Debra E. Pearl, a New York therapist for more than 30 years, who sees patients in her doorman-secured office building. She will make exceptions, doing consultations at her home if it is an emergency and as long as she knows the client well. But Pearl said she knows there are uncontrollable risks: "People can flip." In this city, evening therapy sessions are almost as common as hitting the gym or happy hour. As details emerge about the killing of Kathryn Faughey, 56, a psychologist killed the night of Feb. 12, the dangerous reality of the job has caused concern among some mental health professionals and their patients.


Home Depot Employee Run Over During Robbery 3 Weeks Ago Dies Of Injuries

Richmond,TX - A Katy Home Depot employee who was run over by a van while trying to stop a robbery died on Saturday. Donald Thomas, 56, had been hospitalized in critical condition for nearly three weeks after being hit by a white van that had pulled into a loading dock behind the Home Depot store on South Fry Road in Katy. On Feb. 28, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s detectives released the photos of two men – Saul Chicas, 32, and Julio Ceaser Escolero, 23, whome they identified as employees of Quality Pallet Co. in the Mission Bend area. Detectives called the two “persons of interes” whom they believe were in the van when Thomas was run down. According to sheriff’s reports, Thomas saw a white van pull up to the shipping dock and ran up to provide assistance, then saw that thieves were stealing pallets from the store’s loading dock.


Worker found dead at DTR Industries

BLUFFTON, OH - An employee at Bluffton-based DTR Industries was pronounced dead at the manufacturing plant Saturday evening. According to the Bluffton Police Department, Yvonne Shurelds, 58, of Lima, was operating a lift truck in the shipping and receiving department when she was discovered unresponsive by a co-worker who called 911. After responding to the call at 6:10 p.m., emergency responders pronounced Shurelds dead at the scene.


Buried Alive: Family Upset About Rescue Efforts

San Antonio,TX - The family of a construction worker who was buried alive while he was digging out a trench Wednesday is speaking out about the tragic accident. The trench collapsed in a new neighborhood under construction near Binz-Engleman Road around 3:30 p.m. One of the workers, 36-year-old Luis Garcia, was completely buried in the collapse. Crews worked for hours to find Garcia. After 6 hours of work, Garcia's body was discovered under 15-feet of dirt. When Garcia's family heard about the accident, they rushed to the work site. But frustration fueled their emotions when they saw the rescue effort kept being put on hold. "We don't expect this to happen," said Garcia's sister-in-law Lourdes Santos. Wednesday night, Santos and other family members had to stand by and watch as rescue crews searched for Garcia.


Fort Bliss Construction Worker Killed In Morning Accident

Biggs Army Airfield, Texas - A 45-year-old construction worker is dead after a morning accident at Biggs Army Airfield on Fort Bliss, just outside El Paso. The C.F. Jordan Co. contract worker died after being hit with a large concrete block about 9:30 a.m. The worker, who was not immediately identified by Army or company officials, had been with C.F. Jordan for about 10 years. The incident is being investigated by Fort Bliss officials, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and C.F. Jordan officials.


OSHA probes worker's death

HUMMELS WHARF - The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death Wednesday of an employee of a Harrisburg-area firm at a shopping mall construction site. Mark Stelmach, area director for OSHA's Wilkes-Barre office, said on Friday that the investigation will try to determine whether any fines will be levied in the death of Ronald Montgomery Collins, 38, of Mount Union. Collins, an employee of S&R Enterprises of West Hanover Twp., was killed when earth-moving equipment ran over him at the Monroe Marketplace construction site along Route 11/15.


2 Firefighters Killed in N.C. Fire

SALISBURY, N.C. — Two firefighters died and three others were injured Friday while battling a fire that destroyed a central North Carolina woodworking company. Firefighters Justin Monroe, 19, and Victor Isler, 40, died from injuries they got while trying to contain the fire at Salisbury Millworks, Fire Chief Rick Parnell said. "It's a deeply sad day in Salisbury today," Parnell said. "We lost two excellent firefighters. They are our friends, brothers and buddies. We're a close, tight-knit group and every member is hurting." Two other firefighters were treated for burns at Rowan Regional Medical Center and released. A third firefighter, who also had burns, was expected to be released later Friday from North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. A steady rain helped firefighters knock down most of the flames at the company. Crews from as far away as Charlotte, about 40 miles south, were called to help battle the 7 a.m. fire.


Elmhurst Realtor Killed Outside Office, Police Say Ex-Boyfriend Shot Her, Turned Gun On Himself

CHICAGO -- A 43-year-old realtor was gunned down as she was leaving her office in west suburban Elmhurst late Friday afternoon. It was determined that the female and male had a relationship at some point," said Neubauer. "This is a domestic related incident." Cindy Bischoff's former boyfriend allegedly waited for her outside of her workplace. After shooting her, he then shot himself. Friends and family of Bischoff claimed they had been worried for her safety. It had been six months since Bischoff broke up with her boyfriend of one year. After the breakup, friends and family said he had stalked her, broken into her home and even threatened to kill her. Bischoff had filed numerous restraining orders against him last year. Bischoff's friend Ron Kurucz said she was a successful industrial real estate agent for Darwin Realty, and her death was a great loss.


UTICA: Worker dies in grain bin accident

Peoria,IL - A Utica Elevator Company employee died today after falling into a grain bin. Harold Paul Beenenga, 56, of Tonica was unloading soybeans into a semitruck when he entered the top through a hatch door and was sucked into the grain bin. “He was just walking along the grain, trying to remedy a problem of some sort. It was a fluke accident,” said Utica Fire Chief Dave Edgcomb. “As the grain leaves, it forms a vortex, and has a suffocation effect.” Edgcomb said there were 40,000 bushels of grain in the bin. Authorities were called to the scene at 9 a.m., and Beenenga’s body was removed from the grain bin at 11:30 a.m. LaSalle County Coroner Jody Bernard pronounced him dead at the scene.


Injection molding worker electrocuted on job

Louisville, KY - A Louisville man was electrocuted on the job at Nypro Kentucky yesterday, according to company officials. Donald S. Dennison, 37, of the 8000 block of Jonquil Drive, died at noon yesterday at an area hospital of apparent electrocution, said R.D. Jones, a Jefferson County deputy coroner. Dennison, who went by the name Scott rather than Donald, was a processor for the plastics injection molding company, said Al Cotton, a company spokesman. The incident was reported at 11:16 a.m., and an ambulance took Dennison to a hospital from the plant located in the 7300 block of Distribution Drive, according to MetroSafe Communications.


Railroad worker dies in Random Lake train accident

Sheboygan,WI - An employee of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Company died Wednesday night after being pinned between two rail cars in Random Lake, the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department reported. The incident was reported by a 911 call at 9:18 p.m. at Lakeside Foods Co., 709 Allen St., according to a press release from Sgt. Terry Cram. The employee was not responsive when emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene, and at 9:21 p.m., local EMS units determined the employee was dead and called the Sheboygan County Coroner’s Office. The accident is under investigation and the employee’s name, age and hometown was being withheld until notification of next of kin, Cram said.


Road collapse kills worker, One lane of Highway 34 closed until repair done

Corvallis,OR — A road construction worker was killed Wednesday morning after a small section of Highway 34 west of Alsea collapsed under the weight of an asphalt grinder, sending him and the machine tumbling down a steep hill. Joshua James Moughler, 28, of Stayton, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was employed by Hatch Company, a subcontractor for Knife River Corp. He was working on the project to repave a portion of the highway damaged in an early December storm, police said.


Taxi driver killed near midtown alley

Tucson,AZ - Tucson Police are investigating the murder of a cab driver. Timothy Royce, 27, was shot around 11:30 Wednesday night between North 6th and 7th Avenues near Helen Street in midtown Tucson. Royce's manager hadn't heard from him in awhile and used GPS to locate the cab. Police say the motive was robbery. While detectives look for suspects, the shooting is still sinking in for neighbors and other Tucson taxi drivers. There is still some crime tape left over from the scene in the alley where Royce's cab and body were found. While the managers at Tucson's Yellow Cab headquarters had no comment, neighbors were talking.


Contractor on Langley AFB job killed

Norfolk,VA – A civilian contractor died as a result of injuries sustained while on the job at Langley AFB in Hampton last weekend. “The only other thing I can tell you is we are investigating the incident and when we have more details we will share them with you,” spokeswoman Lt. Georgeanne Schultz with the First Fighter Wing told 13News. The base didn't release details of the incident, but Lt. Shultz stressed, ”We do our best to maintain all of our safety standards” and added that an investigation is underway. The Daily Press cites an internal e-mail at Langley as reporting the 42-year-old was working on a concrete barrier when an I-beam fell and struck him in the chest. The man fell and hit his head, according to the Peninsula newspaper.


Tractor-Trailer Driver Killed In Crash, Police: Part Of Fence Impaled Driver

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed early Tuesday morning when he veered off the road along Interstate 65 near Emerson Avenue. The tractor-trailer crashed into a fence and some trees behind a nursing home at about 1 a.m. A portion of the fence went through the windshield of the cab and impaled the driver, identified as Elvin Stanley, 47, of Chicago, and killed him instantly.

WALL TOPPLES

Harrisburg,PA - Within minutes of checking on the safety precautions at the demolition site of a condemned former meat-packing plant Tuesday morning, Royalton borough employee Jeffrey Tennis was crushed by a 10-foot brick wall, leaving him in critical condition. Tennis, 46, foreman of the borough's highway maintenance crew, had gone to the scene after the borough office received inquiries about the safety precautions at the site, Royalton Secretary/Treasurer Bonnie Young said. According to Harry Nicholson, the man hired to remove the wall, Tennis had parked his truck next to the building to talk to workers about placing orange cones around the wheels of the lift being used by workers who were removing the bricks layer by layer from the top of a bowed-out section of wall.


Georgia Power employee killed by falling tree

DECATUR, GA - Authorities said a Georgia Power employee died after trees fell on his pickup truck as it was parked at an intersection near East Lake Golf Club. DeKalb County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Eric Jackson said two trees crushed the truck, including one 60-foot tall tree that crushed the driver on Tuesday. An arborist might be called in to determine the cause of the fall, including taking into consideration the health of the tree, which was in the yard of a two-story house. Thunderstorms and strong winds had passed through the area, and many trees have root systems weakened by two years of drought. The worker's name was withheld until his family could be notified.


Man dies in packaging company accident

Grand Rapids,MI - A man died at the Altivity Packaging company in a work-related incident. In a statement released late Monday afternoon, the company said the accident happened "at the Michigan Paperboard facility in Battle Creek, Michigan, when a plant supervisor was struck and fatally injured by a forklift. We are working with the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration to fully investigate the incident." The facility is located at 79 Fountain. State investigators are also investigating, but said the company has a clean record with no violations in the past five years. 24 Hour News 8 will have more information as soon as possible.


Caddo employee killed in rollover accident, Truck overturns, lands on the driver

Shreveport,LA - A Caddo Parish employee was killed Monday when the dump truck he was driving ran off the road and overturned. Lloyd Jones, 61, was ejected and the truck landed on him, said Cindy Chadwick, sheriff's spokeswoman. Jones was northbound on state Highway 169, near Spring Ridge, just before 8 a.m. when the vehicle left the shoulder of the road. He overcorrected the truck, and it flipped at least once, bringing down power lines. "It does not appear that he was wearing a seat belt," Chadwick said "But it does appear the vehicle may have struck a utility pole at some point."


Man killed by forklift "would give you the shirt off his back"

Battle Creek,MI - Ron McDaniel kept candy in his pocket, but gave away his money. "He didn't buy a lot," his daughter, Julie McDaniel, said Monday, "but he wanted us to get anything we wanted. He would spend all his money on us." McDaniel, 59, died Monday morning when he was hit by a forklift carrying a 4,800-pound roll of paper at Altivity Packaging, formerly Michigan Paperboard Co., at 79 E. Fountain St. McDaniel, a 35-year employee and a supervisor in the shipping department, was pronounced dead in the warehouse, according to Battle Creek police, who were called at 6:20 a.m.


Willingboro man killed in plant accident

BURLINGTON CITY, PA — A worker at the U.S. Pipe and Foundry plant was killed today in an industrial accident, police said. Norman Castick, 53, of Willingboro suffered fatal injuries when a 3,000-pound pipe rolled off a forklift at the East Pearl Street plant at 8:14 a.m. and crushed him, police said. Castick was pronounced dead at the accident scene. Castick had been an employee at the plant for more than 30 years, police said. City police and inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident.



Vazquez to be honored with a line-of-duty funeral

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — Fire-Rescue Lt. Ray Vazquez will be honored Friday in a public funeral at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in suburban West Palm Beach. The services will begin at 11a.m. and a procession to the Dorsey-E. Earl Smith Memory Gardens in Lake Worth will follow. Vazquez will be cremated. Michele Vazquez, the wife of the first Wendy's shooting victim, will address the media tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at fire-rescue station 28 in Royal Palm Beach. Her husband, 42-year-old Vazquez , was the first person hit in Monday's rampage and the only person other than the shooter who died. It is the first time she has spoken publicly about the tragedy.


Wounded Ohio Officer Dies at Hospital

CLEVELAND, OH — A police officer who was shot investigating a group of men drinking beer inside an abandoned garage died hours later at a hospital, authorities said Saturday. Derek Owens, 36, and another officer approached a the men Friday night and chased them when they started to run away, police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said. Owens caught up with one of the men, who turned around and shot the officer in the stomach just beneath his bulletproof vest, Stacho said. Owens returned fire and the suspect then exchanged shots with Owens' partner. No one else appeared to be injured, Stacho said. Owens underwent surgery at MetroHealth Medical Center but died early Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman said.


Police Identify Worker Killed By Forklift

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Police have identified a worker killed in a forklift incident at an underground business complex on Saturday. They said Angelo Cambiano, 59, was killed when the forklift fell on him at about 1:30 p.m. inside the Hunt Midwest SubTropolis business complex along Missouri Highway 210 directly across from Ameristar Casino. Kansas City police handled the investigation on Saturday. Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were expected to investigate to determine what caused the forklift to fall on the worker


Barge worker crushed

New Orleans,LA - A man working on a barge along the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish was crushed between two pieces of equipment Saturday night and died at a nearby hospital, according to authorities in the parish. Kelly Patrick Bennett, 37, of Bridge City, was pronounced dead at 11:25 p.m. at Ochsner Medical Center West Bank, said Scotty Polk, Plaquemines Parish coroner's office investigator. Polk said Bennett, employed by H.B. Ventures of Marrero, was working on a barge docked at United Bulk Terminal in Davant when the accident occurred. United Bulk is a coal-processing terminal. Polk said the case is under investigation to determine how the accident happened and what equipment was involved.


Snow-Removal Worker Dies After Fall From Roof

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. ― A Centennial man who'd served two tours of duty in Iraq is dead after falling from the icy roof of a Steamboat Springs hotel. Authorities say Eric O'Hara, 24, was in Steamboat to help his brother-in-law, who operates a business that's contracted to clear snow from roofs. O'Hara was at the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel and was standing on a piece of ice that broke loose about 4 p.m. Thursday. He had released a carabiner clip so he could move along a safety rope, and slid down the roof without being attached. O'Hara grabbed the rope after sliding over the edge of the roof, but falling snow and ice knocked him loose. He landed on his back on a lower roof and died at the scene. O'Hara was a 2002 graduate of Steamboat Springs High School.


Construction Worker Falls to His Death at NW Site

DC - A construction worker died today after falling about 30 feet to the ground at a Northwest Washington job site, officials said. The 25-year-old man had massive head injuries and was pronounced dead soon after he was transported from the construction site at 14th and T streets NW to Howard University Hospital, said Alan Etter, spokesman for the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services. The accident happened about 1:45 p.m., and police are investigating. The man's identity has not been released pending notification of family members.


Worker dead after fall from Beaver Co. warehouse roof

AMBRIDGE, Pa. - Federal authorities are investigating the death of a man who fell while repairing a warehouse roof in Beaver County. Harmony Township police say 44-year-old Marshall Compton Jr. of Claysville, fell through a skylight down 75 feet. Police say the building belonged to Koppel Steel, but that Compton was working for a contractor at the site. Police did not immediately identify the contractor. Police say Compton had unhooked himself from a safety line shortly before falling Monday. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.


Man dies in industrial accident

Kalamazoo, MI - In Battle Creek an employee at Altivity Packaging is dead after a workplace accident. The company is on Fountain Street, just off West Dickman Road. Someone called 911 just before 6:30 Monday morning reporting a fatal industrial accident. Police Commander Jackie Hampton says the man died when a giant roll of paper fell on him. Altivity was once the Michigan Paperboard Company until 2006. The paper plant opened more than 40 years ago and supplies packaging materials for Kellogg, Miller Brewing Company and other major organizations.


Worker struck in head dies at construction site

SCHUYLKILL, PA — A Kempton man died of massive head-trauma injuries during construction inside an Aqua Pennsylvania water treatment facility early Friday morning. According to Schuylkill Police Chief Jim Fetterman, Kevin Boyle, 50, was one of two employees attempting to pick up an I-beam at the facility, along Valley Forge Road, about 7:47 a.m. “They were trying to pick up an I-beam for the construction job that is going on there,” said Fetterman. “They were using a Lull Highlander forklift. At that point, (Boyle) was in front of the forklift, and the forklift climbed up on top of the I-beam. “We’re not sure if he was struck by the forklift, or knocked over and the I-beam hit him.”


Stabbed Key Food Worker Dies, Ex-Boyfriend is Suspect

NY -The police are looking for a man suspected of stabbing two Key Food employees, one of whom died at a hospital two hours after the afternoon attack. Other employees at the East Village store say James Gonzalez, a part-time maintenance worker, stabbed ex-girlfriend Tina Negron with a 10-inch knife, because he was upset over their breakup. Negron had been in the elevated manager's booth when Gonzalez apparently attacked. Bookkeeper Rosheda Andradas was also in the booth and was stabbed multiple times as well. One shopper told the Post about the frightening event: "I heard the commotion and screaming coming from the office," said a shopper who had a clear view from the store's dairy aisle. "As I was staring up there, the door smashed open and this guy came running down the stairs...He had an enormous knife, a machete-style knife. He came bursting down the stairs really fast, wielding the knife, and he just ran out of the store."..."I didn't want to become a victim of the knife," she said. "I backed away...I heard crying and screaming coming from the office. Then it was quiet." Negron was taken to Beth Israel Hospital, where she died of her wounds. Andradas is in serious condition at Bellevue.


Worker dead after trench collapse in Pasco

PASCO, Wash. - A recently retired construction engineer who stayed around to finish a couple of projects has died in a trench collapse in Pasco. According to autopsy results issued Monday, 65-year-old William Talbott of Kennewick was buried in about three feet of wet sand. By the time a co-worker got Talbott's head and mouth uncovered, he had stopped breathing. Witnesses say Talbott was standing on the edge of a trench 12 feet deep at a Port of Pasco project when the sides collapsed Saturday. Talbott retired last month after working for J-U-B Engineers. The company's area manager, Ben Volk, says Talbott was working as a contract employee to finish a couple of projects with the Port of Pasco. A retirement party had been planned this week.


A Gladstone woman is charged with murder after allegedly killing a Milwaukie man in front of his co-workers on Thursday morning.

OR - Randy Lee Chipman, 48, was killed Feb. 28 at WW Metal Fab, 2200 S.E. Mailwell in Milwaukie. Several hours later, police announced the arrest of Sonia Marie Ulness, 40. She is charged with one count of murder and is due in court for arraignment Friday afternoon. “We don’t have a motive as of yet that we can get into,” said Milwaukie Police Officer Kevin Krebs. “We’re not certain as to what prompted this incident.” Krebs said Chipman and Ulness were involved in a domestic relationship.


National Forest employee dies on the job

Rapid City,SD - Black Hills National Forest employee John Hudson died in the outdoors he loved Thursday afternoon on a ski trail in Wyoming's Bear Lodge Mountains. Hudson, 59, was working with another forest service employee grooming cross-country ski trails. He was sitting on his snow machine when he collapsed and died. Resuscitation efforts by the other forest employee were unsuccessful. Crook County Coroner Mike Frolander said Friday afternoon that he had not yet determined the cause of Hudson's death. He said he was conducting an autopsy on Hudson's body.


Work halted on U-M museum following death

MI - Work on an addition to the University of Michigan Museum of Art was suspended Friday as an investigation got underway into the death of a masonry worker who fell about 40 feet from scaffolding the previous afternoon at the Central Campus work site. U-M officials did not release his name, but according to Pinckney Village President Rebecca Foster, it was Leo Felty, 32, the husband of Village Clerk Amy Felty. "We're all just devastated," said Foster. The couple have a son and twin girls, all in grade school, said Foster. Kirk Frownfelter, executive vice president and area general manager for Skanska, the U-M's construction management company, said he did not believe Felty was wearing a safety harness, but one was not required in this case.


Family Sues After Construction Worker Falls To His Death

San Antonio,TX - A lawsuit is the latest problem to plague the new Downtown Grand Hyatt Hotel. The family of a construction worker who fell to his death at the hotel is suing the companies they believe are responsible for his death. The lawsuit states Joseph Montez, Jr. fell "20 stories to his death" inside the Grand Hyatt when the "gate flew open" on the Hercules elevator hoist. Montez's parents are blaming Jing Long Engineering Machinery Company, Rock Island Rigging, Rock Island Rigging Company, and Lewis Crane and Hoist. The lawsuit claims the four companies "had knowledge of the dangerous condition of the subject Hercules Hoist."


Man killed in fall from cliff identified

Camarillo,CA - Authorities this morning identified the Simi Valley man who died Wednesday evening when he fell from a cliff. Donald Harrington, 76, fell more than 150 feel from a cliff near the 5200 block of Tapo Canyon Road north of Simi Valley about 5:15 p.m., said Capt. Bill Boyd of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. Harrington's wife reported the fall and told authorities she tried to take her husband's pulse when she found him, but could not find one, authorities said. Harrington was an employee of a ranch in the area and was working at the time of the fall.


12th victim dies of injuries from sugar refinery blast

Charleston,SC - A worker died Tuesday from injuries suffered in the Imperial Sugar Co. refinery explosion nearly three weeks earlier, leaving behind a wife and five children, a relative and hospital officials said. John Butler Jr., 35, had been in critical condition at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta, said his aunt, Jeannette Brooks of Summerville. Butler was the 12th person to die as a result of the Feb. 7 accident in Port Wentworth, Ga.


2 Killed After 18-Wheeler Falls Off Dallas Overpass

DALLAS, TX - Dallas police said two people were killed after an 18-wheeler overturned and crashed into a vehicle traveling eastbound on Continental Avenue below Interstate 35E in downtown Dallas. The driver of the Texas Land and Air Co. tractor-trailer, 38-year-old David Simonelli of Bedford, was killed, along with 20-year-old Ashley Parra, who was driving the vehicle the truck fell on, Dallas police said. The semi was on a ramp from Woodall Rogers Freeway to northbound I-35E when it fell over the guardrail and plunged onto the vehicle just after 3 p.m. "The materials shifted during the time that the vehicle took the turn and just brought the whole trailer and the tractor over the ramp, falling on the vehicle," Sgt. Gil Cerda said. Police said Parra had no chance to avoid the semi.


Maintenance worker killed in Ross County fairgrounds accident

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A maintenance worker at the Ross County fairgrounds died this morning after an all-terrain vehicle that he was working on inside a garage apparently kicked into gear, dragged him outside and pinned him against a building. Michael W. Retherford, 60, of 344 Fairgrounds Rd., was pronounced dead at the scene around 9 a.m., according to a spokesman for county Sheriff Ron Nichols. Retherford was described as a well-liked maintenance worker who lived at the fairgrounds off Rt. 104 north of Chillicothe.


Shooting victim identified as Georgia truck driver

Tampa, FL - Roger Lee drove all night from Georgia to get to the Clorox Plant in East Tampa. Friday morning, Tampa Police found him shot and killed. Investigators say Lee, 65, showed up around 4:30 a.m., but the security guard told him no deliveries until 8:00am. So he went back to his cab to nap. "There's no indication that he put up a fight," said Andrea Davis, a spokeswoman with the Tampa Police Department. "Right now it looks like he was sleeping." The security guard, just feet away, heard the shot and saw Lee run towards him. But it was too late.

Quarry accident victim's wife says he loved his job

Racine,WI - The 62-year-old man who died Monday in a quarry accident is remembered by his wife as a “simple man” who relished fishing and traveling and loved his job. Charles Nemetz of the Waukesha County Town of Lisbon, near Sussex, was killed Monday at Park View Sand and Gravel, 31844 Washington Ave. (Highway D). He died when the backhoe he was operating fell into a water-filled quarry and he drowned, according to the results of an autopsy performed Tuesday morning. Nemetz was knocked unconscious when the heavy machinery toppled through the ice and into 12 feet of water, said Racine County Medical Examiner Tom Terry. But it was the icy water, not his head injury, that led to Nemetz’ death. Just a few weeks ago, Nemetz and his wife, Connie, were on the beach at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas for a winter getaway.


St. Tammany Sheriff's Office releases name of deputy killed in weekend wreck

New Orleans,LA - The St. Tammany Sheriff's Office on Monday released the name of a deputy killed in a Sunday morning motorcycle accident. Deputy Kerry Snaples, 22, of Ponchatoula, died at about 4:20 a.m. Sunday when his motorcycle struck a pickup that was stopped in the westbound lane of U.S. 190 near Covington High School. The Sheriff's Office did not release the deputy's identity Sunday because of difficulty contacting his family. Covington Police, who are investigating the case, booked the driver of the pickup, James E. Delancey Jr., 37, of Gulfport, Miss., with vehicular homicide, DWI and driving with a suspended license.


Todd County farmer dies while helping cow

St. Cloud, MN — A Todd County farmer died Thursday when a cow had complications while giving birth and rolled on top of him, according to Sheriff Peter Mikkelson. Kirk Patrick Harms, 37, died after being taken to a hospital in Wadena, he said. The accident happened Thursday afternoon at a farm at 44814 Todd County Road 23 in Bertha Township.


Nininger, Dupree out on bond in Roanoke County deadly DUI crash case

Roanoke,VA - While police work to recreate the accident that killed construction worker Richard Slone last Wednesday, Tracie Nininger and Jeffrey Dupree are both out of jail on bond. Nininger is out on $50 thousand bond. Dupree’s bond is $6 thousand. Both are charged with DUI and Involuntary Manslaughter. According to court documents, Nininger and Dupree are required to submit daily drug and alcohol tests. Nininger also has to blow into an Ignition Interlock System, which insures she isn’t intoxicated before getting behind the wheel, and she’s facing a 9pm curfew. In the meantime, police were back out at the scene of the accident Monday, recreating the crash. “It’s basically forensic mapping,” Roanoke County Officer Mike Christian said. Officers blocked the right lane of 419 and took measurements for about 45 minutes. Police used specialized forensic equipment to speed up the investigative process.


Worker killed at Nolo Mine accident

NOLO, PA – An Ebensburg man was killed Monday at an underground coal mine near this Indiana County community after he was struck by a shuttle car. The man’s name was not being released until next of kin have been notified, said Indiana County Coroner Michael A. Baker. The victim received multiple traumatic injuries and apparently died immediately upon being struck by the shuttle car, he said. The accident took place about 11:30 a.m. The victim was pronounced dead inside the mine at 2:30 p.m., Baker said. An autopsy is schedued for today at Memorial Medical Center to confirm the nature of the injuries, he said. The accident took place about 11:30 a.m. The victim was pronounced dead inside the mine at 2:30 p.m., Baker said. An autopsy is schedued for today at Memorial Medical Center to confirm the nature of the injuries, he said. Ron Ruman, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said officials from the state Bureau of Deep Mine Safety were on the scene at the Nolo Mine near Strongstown to investigate. Baker said the victim worked for Civil Mining Environmental Engineering, Latrobe.


Worker dead after trench collapse in Pasco

PASCO, Wash. - A recently retired construction engineer who stayed around to finish a couple of projects has died in a trench collapse in Pasco. According to autopsy results issued Monday, 65-year-old William Talbott of Kennewick was buried in about three feet of wet sand. By the time a co-worker got Talbott's head and mouth uncovered, he had stopped breathing. Witnesses say Talbott was standing on the edge of a trench 12 feet deep at a Port of Pasco project when the sides collapsed Saturday. Talbott retired last month after working for J-U-B Engineers. The company's area manager, Ben Volk, says Talbott was working as a contract employee to finish a couple of projects with the Port of Pasco. A retirement party had been planned this week.


Worker dies after being pulled into paper-winding machine

WORCESTER, Mass.- Worcester police say a 24-year-old worker was killed when he was pulled into a paper-winding machine. more stories like this David Gonzalez of Worcester and another employee of Creative Paper Company were operating the machine when the incident happened shortly after 1 a.m. Friday. Police say they have not yet determined how he was pulled into the machine. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating.


Utility lineman dies after shock

PLYMOUTH, Ind. - An electrical worker died from burns he suffered when he was shocked by more than 7,000 volts of electricity while helping to repair a damaged utility pole. Jeffrey Cox, 48, died Friday from injuries he suffered when a piece of electrical equipment contacted his shoulder, according to a report from the United Steel Workers Local 12775. The union represented Cox, who was a journeyman lineman employed by Northern Indiana Public Service Co. Colleen Reilly, a spokeswoman for NIPSCO, declined to comment on the Feb. 16 accident, but said the company was "devastated" by the death of Cox, who was a 30-year veteran of the company.


Guns becoming more common at work

CHARLOTTE, NC - Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say 54-year-old James Henry Brewer from Charlotte was shot and killed on Saturday night at a Cricket Store on Mount Holly Huntersville Road. They believe he was shot dead by a store employee, after he tried to rob the business. Officer Hassan Peterson with CMPD says detectives are still investigating the case. When they’re finished, they will hand the case over to the district attorney to decide if any charges will be filed.


Cherry Hill man dies in dock accident

CAMDEN, NJ — A 56-year-old dock worker from Cherry Hill died Monday after an accident at the Beckett Street Terminal, an official from the South Jersey Port Corporation said. Krzysztof Zarotynski was killed shortly after 6 a.m., said Jay Jones, deputy executive director of the South Jersey Port Corporation. Zarotynski, who had worked on the docks for 21 years, was preparing a crane to unload a ship when the accident occurred, Jones said. Last rites were administered dockside at 6:30 a.m., port officials said. "Tragically, Mr. Zarotynski becomes the first and only employee of the South Jersey Port Corporation to be fatally injured at the port in the SJPC's half-century history," Joseph Balzano, executive director of the South Jersey Port Corporation, said in a statement.


Wake Co. Employee Killed After Ambulance Falls On Him

RALEIGH, N.C. - An employee at Wake County General Services Fleet Management was killed Tuesday after an ambulance he was working on fell on top of him. Officials said during a news conference that 33-year-old David Champion, a mechanic working on ambulance died when the emergency vehicle fell on top of him. Champion was transported to WakeMed where he later died. Fleet Management has stopped work until an internal review can take place.


OSHA fines Jerome company, Agency hits Allstate with $6K fine after worker's death

Twin Falls,ID, - Allstate Construction of Jerome has been hit with a $6,000 fine for allowing Kenneth Donald "Ken" Lahn to work within 10 feet of a live power cable, which electrocuted him through a crane cable earlier this month "It's our belief that they may have contributed to this accident," said Jerry Hockett, area director for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But OSHA determined that the company did not "willfully" disregard employee safety, Hockett said. On Feb. 5, Lahn, 38, was guiding a crane to move scrap metal at the Jerome City water treatment plant when the crane cable hit a live power line, according to a Jerome Police report. The line sent a 7,000-volt surge, which grounded through Lahn and an outrigger of the crane. Sparks on the outrigger drew the crane operator's attention away from Lahn, who was being shocked. A company supervisor said both men were wearing appropriate protective gear and had followed standard operating procedures.


Worker’s death being investigated by OHSA

Winchester, VA - The death of a local window replacement company’s employee is being investigated by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Jennifer Wester, who works at the OSHA office in Richmond, confirmed that her agency is looking into the circumstances that led to 28-year-old Richard Lee Muth’s death on Wednesday. Wester added that "No comment [would be made] on an ongoing investigation." According to an obituary that appeared in Friday’s edition of The Winchester Star, Muth was a resident of Shenandoah Junction, W.Va. He was employed as a crew leader with The Window Replacement Co., also known as WinRepCo, at 788 Baker Lane north of Winchester. When contacted on Monday, a WinRepCo employee said any comment on the incident would have to be made by the owner, who was not available.


Fall Kills Construction Worker

MEMPHIS, TN - Shelby County Sheriff's detectives say a man died Monday after falling from a stepladder while doing construction work at Rosemark Academy. Investigators say Henry Scott, of Byhalia, Mississippi, was working on a new addition at the school and was about nine feet off the ground when he fell forward and hit his head. Other construction workers tried to revive Scott, but were unable to. Scott's death has been ruled an accident by Shelby County Sheriff's detectives, but Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators are also looking into the circumstances of Scott's death.


AK Steel worker crushed to death by coil of steel

Coshocton, OH - A worker at an AK Steel plant in eastern Ohio died early Wednesday after being crushed by a coil of steel, police said. David Wentz, 38, of Plainfield, was pronounced dead at the site by the county coroner, according to the Coshocton County Sheriff's Office, which was called to the plant about 2 a.m. Wentz, a maintenance technician, had worked for the company since 1996, said AK Steel spokesman Alan McCoy. He was working in a heating area at the time of the accident and the steel coil was being lowered by an overhead crane, McCoy said.


Worker dies after fall at Sunnyvale Town Center project

Los Angeles, CA -A San Jose man died Tuesday after falling from a parking structure he was helping construct at the Sunnyvale Town Center. According to Sunnyvale police, no one witnessed 40-year-old Ramon Ponce's fall. However, evidence indicates that Ponce was working on a handrail when the beam he was standing on failed.


Fatality at Pasco airport construction project

PASCO, Wash. - An autopsy may disclose whether a construction worker had a heart attack or was killed in an industrial accident in a trench at the Pasco Airport. The 65-year-old Kennewick man, William Talbott, was working on a water line Saturday when he died. A family friend tells KNDO-KNDU he was scheduled to have a retirement party tomorrow.


Deputies pursuing suspect in fatal shooting of co-worker

AZ - Maricopa County sheriff's deputies are searching for an illegal immigrant they think fatally shot a co-worker Saturday night at a Gila Bend-area ranch. The Sheriff's Office thinks Orlando Canillo-Bello, 36, shot the victim in the head about 7 p.m. during an argument. He then forced another co-worker into a vehicle at gunpoint and fled, the Sheriff's Office said. The shooting reportedly happened on a ranch near old U.S. 80 and Woods Road...The 29-year-old victim was also an illegal immigrant, the Sheriff's Office said. His name was not released.


79-Year-Old Worker Killed After Mobile Home Splits, Falls On Him

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A mobile home demolition in Marion County turned deadly when the trailer collapsed and killed one person. Deputies say three people were working to demolish the home Sunday in northwest Marion County. The home suddenly split in half and fell on top of a 79-year-old worker. The other two workers were also inside the home when it happened, but they made it out without injury. The accident was under investigation.

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