Friday, June 19, 2009

Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

Student dies in tractor accident

June 14, Opelika, Alabama - A 23-year-old Moore’s Mill Golf Course employee died Sunday evening from injuries he sustained after the tractor he was driving tipped over, according to the Lee County Coroner’s office. Lee County Deputy Coroner Charlotte Patterson said Trenton McLeod, an Auburn University student from Prattville, was driving a tractor on the course at about 7 a.m. Sunday when he hit an embankment, causing the tractor to tip over and pin McLeod under the blower attached to the back of the tractor.


ConAgra Worker Laid To Rest

June 14, Raleigh, North Carolina - Family of Rachel Mae Poston Pulley walked out of the Springfield Baptist Church on Sunday holding each other, still too distraught to talk about her death. Pulley and two other workers died after an explosion at the ConAgra Plant in Garner on Tuesday, due to what federal investigators said was a natural gas leak.....Pulley died just four days before her 68th birthday, and is survived by six daughters and one son.


2 workers die in fall from bridge

June 12, New Orleans, Louisiana - Jefferson Parish officials say men fell to their deaths off the Huey P. Long Bridge on the Westbank Friday night. "First responders arrived at the accident site, 3225 River Road in Bridge City and located the bodies of two Hispanic males. They were both pronounced dead on the scene," Col. John Fortunato said in a news release....Fortunato says both victims were Hispanic men. "One is a 33 year old from Kenner LA and the other is a 26 year old from Austin TX."


Man Dies in Workplace Crane Accident

June 12, Tampa, Florida - I was sorry to read about another workplace death involving a crane accident last week. According to the report, a worker fell over ninety feet to his death from a crane up in Gary. A coroner says a Valparaiso man fell 90 feet from an overhead crane and died at U.S. Steel’s Gary Works. The Lake County coroner’s office says 54-year-old Alexander Santoyo was pronounced dead of massive blunt force trauma about 4:30 p.m. Saturday.


DPS officer killed in small plane crash

June 12, Tuscon, Arizona - An officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety has died in a small aircraft in Nebraska. Officer Allen Peterson, 51, was piloting the aircraft near Ogallala, Nebraska on Thursday when it went down. The cause of the crash is under investigation. In a statement released to the media, Lt. Daniel Lugo, Commander of the DPS Highway Patrol Bureau District Eight said, "Officer Allen Peterson served the department and the citizen's of Arizona with dignity and honor. His friends and co-workers know Allen as a mild-mannered individual always employing a gentle touch to every situation. Allen will be remembered by all of his peers as a selfless hero with a passion for flying and helping others. He will be missed but not forgotten."


Identities of construction workers killed in collapse released

June 12, Austin, Texas - The identities of three construction workers killed in that scaffold collapse in West Campus were released Friday.Wilson Joel Irias Cerritos, 30, and Jesus Angel Lopez Perez, 28, were both from Honduras. Raudel Ramirez Camacho, 27, was from Mexico. The men fell when a scaffold gave way outside the 21 Rio building's 11th floor Wednesday afternoon. A fourth man jumped from the scaffold as it started to fall. He suffered only minor injuries.


Metro PCS employee shot in robbery


June 12, Fairfield, California - There were two shootings that happened late Thursday afternoon. Fairfield Police shot a man they thought was a suspect in a fatal armed robbery and now they're questioning if these two incidents are connected. The first incident occurred at 5:15 p.m. with a robbery and shooting at a Metro PCS store in Suisun City. It ended with a shooting near the Travis Air Force Base. A 20-year-old clerk at the cell phone store died in a robbery. He was a father, husband, and son just trying to do his job when someone decided to rob the store he worked at.


Man dead at crash scene was GAPS driver

June 12, Albany, Oregon - A Greater Albany Public Schools employee was killed Thursday afternoon when the passenger van he was driving crashed along Interstate 5 north of Albany. James Paul Marlowe Jr., 61, of Albany was working at the time, transporting a student home from a special program in the Salem-Keizer school district. The student, Levi Brown, 17, of Albany was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. She had non-life threatening injuries, according to the Oregon State Police.


Highway worker killed on the job to be honored by fellow crew

June 12, Madison, Wisconsin - Dane County highway crews will be paying their respects Friday afternoon for a co-worker killed on the job a week ago. The workers will wear their high-visibility safety vests to the visitation for James Porter, 61, who was killed June 4 while doing maintenance work with a highway crew on U.S. 151 in Sun Prairie. Visitation for Porter is at the Gunderson East funeral home, 5203 Monona Drive, from 4-7 p.m. Friday.


Construction worker, driver killed in suspected DUI

June 12, Arnoldo Placencia was planning to celebrate his eldest daughter's 23rd birthday Thursday and to walk her down the wedding aisle in September. He and his wife, Alicia, talked about taking a big vacation for their 25th wedding anniversary in November. But the father of five will never mark those family milestones. Placencia, 49, was working in a construction zone in the Arden Arcade area of Sacramento County just after 1 a.m. Thursday when a driver struck and killed him, according to California Highway Patrol officials.


Charlotte truck driver dies in accident

June 12, Mooresville, Virginia - A Charlotte man died Thursday afternoon when the tractor-trailer he was driving collided with the rear of a second big rig in the lane to the eastbound weigh station on Interstate 40 west of Statesville.Harold Maurice Bennett, 49, was killed instantly in the crash, which happened around 1:30 p.m., authorities said. Trooper Bobby Lineberger of the N.C. Highway Patrol's Motor Carrier Division said Bennett was driving a truck for Food Lion, which is based in Salisbury. Bennett pulled his truck into the lane to go into the weigh station but couldn't slow down before striking the rear of a flat-bed truck driven by Eddie Wray of Bedford, Ind.


Moreno Valley High School employee collapses, dies

June 11, Riverside, California - A longtime Moreno Valley High School staff member died Thursday afternoon after collapsing at the school hours before graduation. A teacher's aide was walking to her car when she collapsed in the parking lot of the high school on Cottonwood Avenue, according to a Moreno Valley police report. The woman suffered from a massive heart attack, Moreno Valley Unified Superintendent Rowena Lagrosa said. Police nor school officials released her identity.


Man dies in Tulsa industrial accident

June 12, Tulsa, Oklahoma - A man died in a Friday morning Tulsa industrial accident after being pinned under a piece of equipment. EMSA spokeswoman Tina Wells said medics responded at about 8:30 a.m. to Superior Linen Service, Inc. at Fifth Street and Rockford Avenue, where firefighters were trying to free the man. The victim, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.


Boat captain killed off coast of Plymouth

June 11, Boston, Massachusetts - The captain of a fishing trawler was killed today when a line holding the net being towed behind the boat snapped and struck him in the head off the Plymouth coast, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. The 40-foot boat out of Plymouth was 10 miles out when the first mate, and the only other person on board, radioed a distress call about 3 p.m., Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer James Rhodes said. “The deck hand said on the radio, that one of the cables broke and hit the captain in the head,” said Ethan Maass, who operates Sea Tow in Marshfield, and also responded to the scene.


3 workers killed in scaffold collapse

June 11, Austin, Texas - Work is suspended on a condominium in Texas pending completion of an investigation into a scaffold accident that killed three men, the developer said Thursday. The developer, Gary Perkins, told the Austin American-Statesman the deaths were being investigated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Austin police. The 21-story condominium tower, known from its location at 21st and Rio streets in Austin as 21 Rio, is near the University of Texas campus.


Worker pulled from collapsed trench in Spring Township dies

June 11, Reading, Pennsylvania - The Berks County Coroner's office has confirmed that the man involved in a construction accident in Spring Township this morning has died. Fidel Arana, 42, of Reading was pronounced dead at 10:27 a.m. at Reading Hospital, according to Gretchen M. Weyandt, deputy coroner. An autopsy will be perfomed early this evening. The accident, in which a ditch caved in on Arana, burying him up to his chin, happened at 9:40 a.m. in the Rosemont development off State Hill Road, just north of Van Reed Road.


Sacramento construction worker fatally struck

June 11, Sacramento, California — A 49-year-old construction worker was killed Thursday when a woman driving a Pontiac apparently sped through a work zone, striking him then smashing into a parked truck and trailer, authorities said. The driver, identified as Nancy Richards of Sacramento, also died in the crash. Authorities said her body smelled of alcohol, but investigators were awaiting the results of toxicology tests before they could determine if alcohol was a factor.


1 dies in propane explosion at Minn. farm supplier

June 11, Waconia, Minnesota — One young man is dead and another injured after a propane tank exploded at a farm supply company in Minnesota. The victim was an employee of Waconia Farm Supply. His name has not been released, but friends tell the Star Tribune he was a high school senior. Carver County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Williams says the tank exploded around 5 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities are investigating. The injured person has wounds that are not life-threatening.


Young Duplin Co. man shot and killed at work

June 10, Duplin County, North Carolina - A 20-year-old was shot and killed while working at a Pizza Hut restaurant in Wallace Tuesday night. Police say the restaurant was closed when a man walked up and fired 6 rounds through the front window. Authorities are waiting for autopsy results, but say 20-year-old Antonio Fenner was apparently hit twice, once in the back and once in the head. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.


2 dead, 1 hurt when scaffold collapses in Texas

June 10, Austin, Texas - Two construction workers are dead and one is injured critically after scaffolding collapsed in Austin, the Associated Press reports. A fourth worker suffered minor injuries. The men were working on a condominium complex near the University of Texas when the scaffolding gave way about 2:30 p.m. CT, Battalion Chief Harry Evans told the Austin American-Statesman. Two men in their 20s fell 11 and 13 stories to their deaths. Another landed on a parking garage a few stories down and is listed in critical condition. The fourth was treated at a hospital.


Group home worker was killed to conceal $160 theft, police say
Two Rochester teens living in Lockport facility caught and charged with murder

June 10, Buffalo, New York - A 24-year-old female worker at a group home for troubled youths in Lockport was beaten to death after her killers put a blanket over her head while she was playing cards with other residents in the home Monday night, Lockport police said Tuesday. The police identified the victim as Renee C. Greco, 24, of Parkside Avenue, Buffalo. Police said they believe a cover up of a recent theft sparked the killing.


Third Body Found in Slim Jim Plant Explosion Rubble

June 10, Garner, North Carolina — A dazed Harold Harris looked up and saw the roof of the Slim Jim snack factory falling down. The doorway was buried in debris. People were crying and screaming. The 40-year-old managed to crawl out of the building after it was rocked by an explosion, but not everyone could: Search teams would pull the bodies of three of his coworkers from the unstable wreckage on Wednesday..... Authorities identified the dead as Barbara McLean Spears, 43, of Dunn; Rachel Mae Poston Pulley, 67, and Lewis Junior Watson, 33, both of Clayton. Authorities said two of them were found near each other while a third was several hundred feet away.


Michigan farmer killed in tractor accident

June 9, Butman Township, Michigan- A farmer has been killed in a tractor accident in Gladwin County. Sheriff's Detective Sgt. J. Cuddie said in a statement Tuesday that 52-year-old Diane Strobel was fatally crushed on her farm in Butman Township. It's about 50 miles north-northwest of Saginaw. The Saginaw News reports Stanley Strobel called 911 after discovering his wife trapped under the tractor Thursday.


Chinese Food Driver Shot During Delivery

June 9, Greensboro, North Carolina -- A restaurant worker was shot while delivering food to an apartment on Luray Drive in Greensboro. Police say the victim, 26-year-old Jason Wagstaff, was shot during an attempted robbery Tuesday afternoon. He is an employee at Great Wall Restaurant. Wagstaff was able to drive away from the scene and was then transported from a location nearby. He is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.


Rio Grande Man Killed in Lawn Mower Accident

June 9, Swainton, New Jersey - A Rio Grande resident, identified as Arthur "Art" Shivers, 72, was killed on Tuesday, June 9 when the lawn mower he was riding on flipped over pinning him underneath at the Sand Barrens Golf Club on Route 9, around 7 a.m. According to police, Shivers was an employee of Sand Barrens. Shivers was riding a mower, specialized for cutting the tee boxes. While mowing a tee box, Shivers had come to close to the one end, and had tipped over into the sand trap. The mower had fallen on top of. Shivers and was found by an employee minutes later. The employee attempted to push the mower off of Shivers but could not.


TDOT Worker Killed In Jackson County

June 9, Jackson County, Tennesee - A TDOT worker was killed after being hit by a car on the side of a highway. Susan McKee, 41, was working as a flagger for crews doing guard rail-replacement Monday afternoon on Highway 56 in Jackson County. Investigators said 86-year-old William Lawson slowed down but didn't stop and hit McKee. McKee died at the scene.


Lawn Care Worker Killed By Lightning

June 9, Miami, Florida - A lawn care worker was killed by a bolt of lightning Monday afternoon while he was working in Coral Springs. Witnesses told CBS4 that Pompano Beach resident Dessalines Oleus, 53, was using a weed whacker in front of a condo complex on the 7800 block of NW 40th Street around 2 p.m. when he was struck. Shanyda Romero said she was inside her home with her kids when her apartment lit up with red and blue light. When she walked outside she saw Oleus lying on the ground. She tried to help him but she said it was too late.


Truck driver killed in crash on turnpike near Swanton

June 9, Swanton, Ohio — A Wisconsin tractor-trailer driver was pronounced dead after his rig crashed and burned on the Ohio Turnpike near Swanton and the toll road was closed for hours. Andrew C. Dietzen, 60, of Appleton, Wis., was driving east with a load of bottled margarita mix, when the semi went off the right side of the road at about 7:38 p.m., according to the Ohio Highway Patrol’s Swanton post. The truck hit the guardrail and then the bridge abutment and turned onto its right side where it burst into flames, the patrol said. Mr. Dietzen was pronounced dead at the scene by Fulton County Coroner Harry Murtiff.


Milwaukee man dies in tannery accident

June 8, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Milwaukee police say a 42-year-old man who had worked at a leather tanning facility for about three weeks was killed when his harness was caught on a rotating drum. Detective Brian Hardrath says Billie J. Bell Jr. of Milwaukee was working between two large rotating drums that apply chemicals to animal hides at D.R. Diedrich and Co. when his harness snagged and pulled him underneath and then thrown over the drum. Bell suffered traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.


Worker Killed In Accident At NV Mine

June 8, Reno, Nevada - Newmont Mining Corp. says a veteran employee was killed in an accident at a northern Nevada gold mine. The company says 57-year-old Steve Halverson of Spring Creek died Saturday when a flatbed pickup truck backed over him at the North Lantern Pit in Eureka County, about 25 miles northwest of Carlin. Halverson was pronounced dead at the scene. Newmont's Nevada operation's executive Tom Kerr says Halverson was a drill operator and had worked for the Denver-based mining company for 22 years.

1 comment:

Dan said...

Wow lotta info and accidents. Heard about the one that occured in Nebraska. Omaha accidents happen too. The ones at fault should be held responsible.

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