Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

Two men may face charges in death

August 22, Lincoln, Maine — Two Lincoln men might face charges for their confrontation with a Tennessee truck driver just before his fatal heart attack in a downtown parking lot, Police Chief William Flagg said Friday. An autopsy conducted Friday showed that Brian Steven Isdell, 55, of Mountain City, Tenn., died of natural causes brought on by heart disease, but the two persons of interest, unnamed men 18 or 19 years old, might still face charges, Flagg said. He said they would not be homicide charges.


Accident kills Blockbuster employee Saturday

August 23, Jamestown, North Dakota - An accident at Blockbuster Saturday evening left one woman dead, according to Lt. Robert Opp, Jamestown Police Department. Opp said a Blockbuster employee between ages 55 and 60 was working an outdoor sale at the store, 702 First Ave. S., when a passenger car driven by a teenager pinned her to the building. The woman died at Jamestown Hospital about an hour later, Opp said. The names of the woman and the driver have not been released.


August 22, Charleston, South Carolina - John Edward, 68, of Brunson, a farmer and husband of Audrey M. Crosby Jarrell, died Thursday. Arrangements by Peeples- Rhoden Funeral Home of Hampton.


Man killed while working on Nacimiento pipeline is identified

August 21, San Louis Obispo, California - The construction worker who died Thursday morning while working on the Nacimiento Water Project in the North County is Timothy Nelson, 29, of Ojai, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department. This is the third death linked to the construction of the 45-mile pipeline. Nelson was killed during work at Camp Roberts when a dump truck backed up and ran him over. The back-up alarm on the truck was working, according to the Sheriff’s Department. It is not known why Nelson did not move out of the way.


Man killed at industrial brick yard


August 21, West Jordan, Utah - A man was found dead at the Interstate Brick yard on 5200 West Old Bingham Highway on Friday. South Jordan Police say 40-year-old Leonard Maez's wife reportedly came to the brick yard to pick him up at work. His co-workers went looking for him and found his body trapped under a kiln door weighing approximately 2 to 3 tons. West Jordan Assistant Fire Chief Marc McElreath said Maez was pinned under the overhead door made of brick which is 25 feet wide and ten feet high.


Houston-area police officer dies in shootout

August 21, Dallas, Texas - A Houston-area police officer has been shot and killed while responding to a disturbance call in a trailer park. The Houston Chronicle reports the 29-year-old Pasadena officer died at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston Friday morning from a head wound. The suspect was also seriously injured in a shootout with police. Assistant Police Chief Bud Corbett said the suspect's mother informed the officer that her son had a gun. Corbett says the gunman opened fire a few moments later, wounding the officer in the head.


Corrections Officer Collapses and Dies

August 21, Tallahassee, Florida - A local corrections officer dies after exercising at an area prison. The warden of Valdosta State Prison says 39-year-old Jack Cannon died Thursday (8/20/09) after collapsing at the prison. The warden says Cannon had finished an exercise a few minutes earlier and was standing around with some colleagues when he fell to the ground. Workers tried to resuscitate him but could not. He was taken to the hospital and declared dead just before noon.


Construction worker dies in accident at Nacimiento pipeline

August 21, San Louis Obispo, California - A construction worker on the Nacimiento Water Project died Thursday morning in an industrial accident at Camp Roberts in the North County, making his the third death linked to the water pipeline’s construction. His death was not related to any military work at the base, officials said, but instead was directly tied to the county-run project to construct a $176 million, 45-mile pipeline from Nacimiento Lake to San Luis Obispo.


Employee of Wallowa-Whitman National Forest killed on the job

August 20, Pendleton, Oregon - This morning at 10:30 a.m. a Wallowa-Whitman National Forest employee was accidentally killed, according to the forest's office of public affairs. The forest service employee was struck by a falling snag while assisting the Baker County Narcotics Enforcement Team with the eradication of an illegal marijuana garden on the forest. The incident occured south of Unity near the West Fork of Bull Run Creek. The victims name is being withheld until the next of kin are notified. Wallowa-Whitman National Forest public affairs said the incident is under investigation my federal, state and local authorities.


Tampa police officer killed; suspect arrested

August 21, Tampa, Florida - An arrest has been made in late Wednesday's shooting death of Tampa police Cpl. Mike Roberts. Humberto Delgado, 34, who gave his address as 324 Country Club Drive in Oldsmar, was arrested and charged shortly before 5 a.m. today with first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and carrying a concealed firearm.


Worker run over by front-end loader, killed in Newport News

August 20, Hampton Roads, Virginia - A worker who was riding in the scoop of a front-end loader was killed Thursday when the loader ran over him, police said. Police identified the man killed as Kirk Patrick Giezey, 34, of Hampton. He was working at a home construction site near 237 Eastwood Drive, police said. The accident was reported at 10:57 a.m.


Murdered Greensboro Cab Driver was a Published Author, Former Diplomat

August 21, Greensboro, North Carolina - "He lived everyday as if it were his last, so I know he's with the Lord," said Anire Adefolalu, talking about Joseph, her husband of 23 years, who was killed while working as a Greensboro United Cab driver. Police said someone shot Adefolalu around 11:30 in the 1200 block of N. Raleigh St. After being shot, police said he crashed his cab and later died from his gunshot wounds.


Rebar column collapse at Highway 75 bridge kills one worker, injures two

August 19, Kingsport, Tennessee — One construction worker is dead and two others injured following the collapse of a rebar column at a Tennessee Department of Transportation bridge project — throwing them into the Holston River. The accident occurred about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday at the Highway 75 bridge in Sullivan County, between Tri-Cities Regional Airport and Highway 36. Simpson Construction out of Cleveland, Tenn., was contracted to build the new bridge, which runs parallel to the current structure... The body of Frangel Garcia was recovered by the Kingsport Lifesaving Crew Dive Team about 11 a.m. after a helicopter, dive teams and boats searched the river.


Trinity Yachts worker dies

August 19, Gulport, Mississippi — An electrician at Trinity Yachts Inc. died in an apparent work-related accident Monday. Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said Luong Huynh, 46, of Biloxi, was working on a yacht at the site off Seaway Road when he apparently got trapped between a hoist and the vessel he was working on. Gulfport police received a 911 call about the accident at 9:27 a.m. Hargrove said he pronounced Huynh dead at the scene at 9:41 a.m. Monday, and an autopsy showed blunt force trauma to the head.


Masonry worker dies after falling 13 stories from Downtown building

August 19, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - A worker fell 13 stories to his death Tuesday on the last day of a renovation project at a Downtown apartment building. The 53-year-old man from Plum, identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner as Roy Pfoertner, was doing masonry work with a project foreman on the roof of The Pennsylvanian on Liberty Avenue when he lost his footing about 11 a.m., Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard said.


Lewis County deputy dies from injuries

August 19, Lewis County, Washington - The Lewis County deputy who was injured in a collision with an elk on Monday has died as a result of those injuries. Deputy Stephen "Mike" Gallagher, 34, of Adna, had worked for the Sheriff's Office since September of 2007. Previously, he worked as a Corrections Officer at the Lewis County Jail.


Worker's body recovered from Ind. grain bin

August 19, Lapel, Indiana - Firefighters have recovered the body of a worker who became trapped inside a central Indiana grain elevator. Town Council President Gary Shuck tells WTHR-TV in Indianapolis that the victim of Wednesday's accident was 50-year-old Jim Leach. Officials say the man fell into a three-story elevator at Farmers Grain in the Madison County town of Lapel. Several hours after arriving, crews tore a hole in the bin to drain thousands of bushels of soybeans.


1 dead in S. Loop construction accident

August 18, Chicago, Illinois - A construction worker was killed in an accident at a work site in the 2400-block of South State Street. The victim, who is in his 30s, was pinned in the equipment after it crashed to the ground around 9:30 a.m. Emergency crews extricated him, but he did not survive the fall. The construction worker was in a Bobcat that fell seven stories at a Chicago Housing Authority demolition project in the 2400-block of South State Street. That project started approximately three weeks ago.


Construction worker killed when water fills tunnel

August 18, Dallas, Texas - A construction worker died this afternoon after rainfall quickly filled a tunnel he and others were drilling in Conroe. The workers were drilling north of Gladstell Road, south of Texas 105, when a drill bit became stuck, said Trey Spikes, Justice of the Peace Precinct 2. The men had to enter the tunnel to free the bit. As they did, a downpour erupted about 3:15 p.m., quickly filling the tunnel, he said. The area filled within eight to 10 minutes, he said, trapping at least three men. Two were able to escape. The body of the third man was recovered at about 6:55 p.m.


Family of Idaho trucker crushed by silage sues

August 19, Twin Falls, Idaho – The widow and father of a trucker crushed to death when a pile of silage fell on top of him is accusing the Idaho dairy where the accident occurred of negligence. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Chad Thompson, 30, who was killed March 7, 2008, when part of a silage pile at least 40 feet high fell on top of his truck. The lawsuit filed recently in 5th District Court contends the owners of 4-Bros Dairy, northwest of Shoshone, were negligent in stacking and maintaining the pile.


Burned utility worker dies from injuries

August 19, North Hanover - A Jersey Central Power & Light employee who was badly burned last week in an explosion at a utility substation has died, officials said. Timothy Utzat, 38, of Toms River, Ocean County, died Sunday night at the burn center at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. Utzat had been undergoing treatment for severe burns he sustained to more than 80 percent of his body during an electrical explosion Aug. 10 at the substation on Cookstown-New Egypt Road.


Worker Dies in Park Slope Scaffold Collapse

August 19, New York, New York - A 42-year-old construction worker died Tuesday while resurfacing the bricks of a Park Slope building after the scaffold he was on collapsed. Police identified the victim as 42-year-old Henyrk Siebor, an employee of Nova Restoration, Inc., of Brooklyn. Officials say Siebor, of Brooklyn, was repairing the facade of the six-story building with three other workers using two scaffolds.


Electrical Worker Killed at Bus Garage

August 19, Washington, DC - A subcontractor doing work for Metro was electrocuted Tuesday morning while installing wiring at the Bladensburg bus garage in Northeast Washington, transit officials said. About 8:40 a.m., an employee of a subcontractor was installing the wiring for a new air compressor, Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said. First aid was administered by Metro employees, and a defibrillator was used, she said. The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where he died at 9:25 a.m., Asato said.


Disney resort stunt performer dies

August 18, Miami, Florida - A stunt performer at the Walt Disney World resort in Florida has died after an accident while rehearsing for a show. A Disney spokeswoman said the stunt performer was rehearsing on Monday night for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and was hurt while doing a tumbling roll. He was taken to the hospital and later died. The performer's name has not been released.


Livery cab driver killed in Bronx

August 17, New York, New York — A livery cab driver has been shot and killed in the Bronx. Police say 46-year-old Ndiaye (Nuh-DIA'-Aye) Amadau was shot once in the chest early Monday. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators are looking into the possibility that a passenger killed the driver during a robbery. No arrests have been made.

1 comment:

Ajlouny said...

People died and continue to die because they work in dangerous conditions, while some industries refuse to admit there's a problem, refuses to change the work process to protect workers, and while the government refuses to write or enforce regulations that would make them.

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