Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

Ohio Trucker Killed in Rollover

August 29, COLUMBUS, OH - Deputies have yet to identify the driver who was killed Sunday evening when the rig he was driving overturned and caught fire along Interstate 270. The rig hauling metal rods on a flatbed trailer drove off the right side of the freeway and struck a guardrail. It then overturned and caught fire, investigators said.


Two Die in Homemade Mine

August 29, SHOW LOW, AZ - two men, a 73 year old and his 25 year old son-in-law, lost their lives Sunday due to toxic levels of carbon monoxide in a homemade mine. The mine was on private property, where officials said the 73-year-old man and his 25-year-old son-in-law have been digging a mine for years. Officials told CBS 5 News it was a hobby for the two, and that they used explosives Saturday to continue their project. They also said the older man was a former professional miner.


Young Boy Killed Working on Family Farm

August 28, ETNA GREEN, IN - 13 year old Wyman Miller was accidentally killed Saturday morning at his family farm. Investigating officers determined that Wyman had begun his chores and went to the woods behind the Amish residence to retrieve fourteen of the family horses to be fed. After not returning from his second trip, Wyman's brothers went looking for their brother and found him near a tree severely injured. Investigators believe Wyman was either struck by a horse or pinned into the tree by a horse due to his injuries and location. The family horses are primarily Belgium Draft horses which are very large and used on the farm. He died of blunt force trauma.


Man Killed When Struck by Farm Tractor

August 27, ELTON, LA - 61 year old Gary Wayne Langley died when he was run over by a farm tractor. Witnesses said Langley was showing a coworker some implements he was selling. The tractor started in gear and the tractor rolled over him several times before medical personnel arrived and were able to stop the tractor. Langley was pronounced dead at the scene by Jefferson Davis Parish Coroner Charles Deese.


Police Chief Dies in Wreck

August 27, HAWK POINT, MO - Part time Police Chief Paul Fricke was killed in an automobile accident on State Highway 47 Friday morning. It is believed that Chief Fricke's patrol car went off the right side of the roadway, and that he over-corrected, causing his patrol car to cross the highway and strike a utility pole on the left side of the road. Chief Fricke served as Hawk Point's part-time police chief and also served as a full time deputy with the Warren County Sheriff's Office.


Farmer Apparently Gored by Bull

August 27, CALEDONIA, WI - 52 year old Kip Sullivan was found dead on his farm Friday morning after he was apparently gored by a bull. It's not clear why Sullivan apparently had been in the pen with the bulls. The bull that apparently gored Sullivan was between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds. The medical examiner said Sullivan received significant blunt force trauma.


Farmer Dies in Hay Baler Accident

August 27, TOWNVILLE, SC - 62 year old James "Jimmy" Max Boleman, Jr. died Friday of blunt-force trauma when he was pulled under a hay baler he was trying to repair, according to a coroner’s report. He was a Townville Volunteer Firefighter as well as a farmer.


Worker Dies in Grain Bin Accident

August 27, GENESEO, IL - 49 year old Raymond Nowland was removing wet corn from the perimeter inside the bin when the corn collapsed on him. "In a big grain bin, sometimes with moisture it cakes on the outside, kind of crusted," said Sheriff Gilbert Cady. "That on the outside fell inward toward the center and covered him up. "We suspect asphyxiation, however it's customary in any work-related accident that we do an autopsy," said David Johnson, Henry County Coroner.



Man Injured on Monday Dies From Injuries

August 27, SIOUX FALLS, SD - 31 year old Jason Bauer of Omaha Nebraska, who was injured in a fall at a construction site in South Dakota has died from his injuries. Police say Bauer's safety line was attached to a steal beam that was among several that gave way at a site in Sioux Falls on Monday afternoon. Bauer fell and was taken to a local hospital.


Flight Instructor Killed by Propeller

August 27, WEYMOUTH, MA - 30 year old Michael Costales, a flight instructor, was struck and killed this afternoon by an airplane propeller at Beverly Municipal Airport when the man exited his aircraft to help another pilot, officials said. Costales was waiting to taxi his single-engine aircraft to runway 34 when he noticed a plane ahead of him, carrying a pilot and a student pilot, having trouble with its canopy, and was struck by his own propeller.


FedEx Worker Dies After Being Pinned Between Trucks

August 27, PHOENIX, AZ - 37 year old Frank Schwakopf died after being pinned between two truck trailers in Phoenix Friday morning. According to Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson, Schwakopf was hooking up two FedEx truck trailers in the shipping yard when apparently one of the vehicles shifted. The two trailers jackknifed, pinning the man between the two trailers. Sometime later, a co-worker came out and found Schwakopf. It is not known how long he was trapped.


UT Sheriff's Deputy Killed by Fleeing Suspect

August 26, FREDONIA, AZ - 41 year old Kane County Sheriff Deputy Brian Harris was shot as he was in pursuit of a suspected burglary suspect. According to officials, Harris was on foot in pursuit of the suspect when he opened fire on Harris, killing the deputy with a high-powered rifle. A manhunt is ongoing for the man suspected of killed the deputy.


Scottsdale Repairman Electrocuted

August 26, SCOTTSDALE, AZ - a 44 year old man working in the attic of a rental house near Scottsdale Road and Oak Street died when he came across live wires and was electrocuted, Scottsdale Police Department Sgt. Mark Clark said. No other information is available at this time.


Employee Killed at Duke Energy Training Site

August 26, KINGS MOUNTAIN, NC - the name of an individual who was killed one week after the groundbreaking for Duke Energy’s support facility has not been identified ouT of respect for the family. Shortly before 11:30AM Thursday a man was struck by heavy machinery and killed at the work site. The work site is on Beason Creek Drive in the Cleveland County Business park with KBR’s Building Group in charge of the construction. UPDATE: Authorities have identified the worker killed in the accident as 19 year old Jacob Wayne Reid.


Man Electrocuted While Working

August 26, PHOENIX, AZ - A man who was found unresponsive after being electrocuted at a job site has died. Police said the man was working in the attic when a co-worker went to check on him and found him unconscious. The man was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police have not released the man’s name.


Missing Farmer Found Dead

August 26, ONEIDA, WI - 42 year old Terry A. Hintz was the victim of a grain bin accident. Residents of the farm called the Sheriff’s Department about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion the missing man had fallen into the bin. The family began the process of emptying the full bin, which held 50,000 bushels. Work continued into the early morning to empty the grain to a level that would allow for safe recovery of the body.


Employee Killed During Jewelry Store Robbery

August 25, UPPER EAST SIDE, NY - 71 year old Henry Menahem was shot and killed during a daytime robbery on Wednesday. Police say the shooter entered Durant Jewelers at Madison Avenue and East 76th Street shortly after 12 p.m. with two bags and a gun. Menahem was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital where he was pronounced dead.


CA Logger Crushed by Falling Log

August 24, FORTUNA, CA - 36 year old Esmeli Moran died Tuesday morning when a redwood log broke loose from a cable and rolled over him. Moran had set a choker -- a cable wrapped around a log and secured -- on a log when the choker slipped. Moran was standing below when the choker came loose and the log rolled onto him, trapping him, Parris said, adding that Moran was killed on impact.


Colorado Tree Trimmer Dies From Fall

August 25, LITTLETON, CO - A man whose name has not been released was killed in Littleton today when the arm on the articulated boom he was working in snapped and he fell about 30 feet. The man was being lowered in a bucket when "basically the arm on the truck broke and came down and he was thrown out," Littleton Fire Bureau Chief Jay Ruoff said.


Dallas Man Killed by Co-Worker

August 25, MCKINNEY, TX - 57 year old Greg Brasch was shot once in the chest by a female co-worker who was the office manager of Bizzy Bees Pest Control. Police were called to the business in the 2800 block of Trinity Square Drive shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday. They found Theresa Gail Robbins sitting in an office, where she was arrested without incident. When asked why she shot him, Robbins replied, "I was expecting someone else to come in" and that God told her to shoot.


Dairy Farmer Dies in Accident

August 25, BARTELSO, IL - 63 years old James H. "Jim" Varel died Wednesday after a hay bale fell on him. Varel was on a front-loading tractor when the accident occurred, according to Clinton County Coroner Phil Moss. "He was loading a couple of round bales of hay when the one on top, when he was raising it up, ... rolled back on him," Moss said.


Roadway Worker Struck and Killed by Car

August 24, BIRMINGHAM, AL - 43 year old Thomas Lopez Velasquez was killed when he was struck by a car this morning while picking up trash along a roadway. Velasquez was working for a trash collection company when a motorist veered off into the road's shoulder and hit him.


Construction Worker Dies From Fall

August 24, CHICAGO, IL - 64 year old Alfred Von Samek of Skokie died this afternoon after he apparently fell into a hole in a floor at a site on the Magnificent Mile, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman said. The man fell about 15 feet, said Detective Jamie Duignan, a Chicago police spokeswoman.


Trucker Dies in Semi Crash

August 24, COLESVILLE, NY - an unidentified 25 year old man reportedly from Illinois is dead after crashing his tractor trailer into a stone wall. The Broome County Sheriff's Office says the victim was headed westbound, coming off a downhill stretch just before Belden Manor Drive and lost control around a turn. The tractor trailer rolled over and continued sliding on its side, slamming head-on into the overpass. The Sheriff's Office says it appears a combination of unsafe speed and wet, slippery road conditions caused the crash.


Detroit Contract Worker Electrocuted

August 24, DETROIT, MI - Michael Park was killed Tuesday afternoon while repairing an electrical line on the city's west side. According to DTE, Michael Park died after coming in contact with an overhead line at about 1:30 p.m. in the 19000 block of Oakfield. "He was injured while changing out a cross arm on a utility pole," DTE spokeswoman Eileen Dixon said. "We have no details yet on exactly how it happened. Park was a contract employee for DTE working for the Energy Clearance Corporation in Detroit.


Young Tree Trimmer Dies After Electrical Accident

August 24, FAIRFAX CITY, VA - 17 year old Gregory Malsam was fatally injured Tuesday in an electrical accident as he trimmed a tree while helping a neighbor trim his trees. Officials say Malsam was killed in the front yard a house in the 4200 block of Berritt Street. Fairfax City fire officials say Malsam suffered massive internal injuries after coming in contact with a 19,000-volt power line. Gregory was described as an old soul with Tarzan hair, a budding electrician and neighborhood handyman.


Tractor Tractor Crash Kills Driver

August 24, SHERMAN, TX - 30 year old Jesse Dandre Jerry of Arlington died when his truck left the roadway and crashed into Post Oak Creek. Police found Mr. Jerry in the submerged cab. For a reason still under investigation, the rig left the roadway before reaching the Post Oak Creek overpass, careened down the embankment, smashing the tractor's cab with Mr. Jerry still inside. The trailer was not as damaged.


Worker Crushed in Forklift Accident

August 24, KANSAS CITY, MO - 45 year old Leslie Jerome Floyd, a contract worker from Florida, died in an industrial forklift accident Tuesday at the Bannister Federal Complex, the former facility of the National Archives. Floyd, was an employee of Horn Material Handling Service of Mustang, OK. According to police Floyd was moving large metal shelving from inside the archives’ warehouse to the outside dock. A witness saw him leave the warehouse and turn left. The witness said Floyd “must have made too wide a turn,” because the forklift then fell off the 3 ½ foot dock. Floyd tried to jump from the driver’s seat of the forklift as it fell, the witness said, but the forklift landed on top of Floyd, killing him.


Security Guard Killed in Spokane Alley

August 24, SPOKANE, WA - 26 year old George Hayek was fatally shot in an alley after getting involved in a confrontation with a group outside an apartment complex. A police spokeswoman says Hayek was on his rounds in an alley behind the Pepsi Cola building when the confrontation began with a group of people socializing in a common area outside the apartments. Police say Hayek pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the group and one member of the group fired several rounds, hitting Hayek.


Worker Who Died in Scaffolding Collapse Identified

August 23, CHARLESTON, SC - In last week's Weekly Toll it was reported an unknown individual was killed when scaffolding he was working on collapsed. According to a new report, 42 year old Wilfredo Barrios Jaldin was the victim in the accident. Jaldin was one of two workers who were caulking a waterfront condominium complex Monday when the scaffolding and a ladder gave way from Laurens Place about 4:15 p.m. Peter Only, owner of Traditional Surfaces, said he hired the crew as subcontractors to perform the caulking on the upscale complex’s balconies. Only, who wasn’t there at the time the scaffolding gave way, said he’s not sure what happened.


Young Worker Killed In "Freak Accident"

August 23, PATOKA, IL - 23 year old Nicholas Feather was killed Monday at the Patoka Oil Tank Farm when a piece of pipe fell from a track hoe, striking him in the head. Marion County Deputy Coroner Troy Cannon says the pipe was being put in position to be welded when the straps supporting the pipe slipped on one side, causing it to fall some 20 feet on to Feather. The Deputy Coroner says Feather was wearing a hard hat at the time but the force from the pipe broke the suspension of the helmet. Feather worked as a welder for Foltz Welding of Patoka. He was an avid sportsman and a member of the Patoka Fire Department.


Electric Service Worker Electrocuted

August 22, NASHVILLE, TN - David Murphy, a Nashville Electric Service employee, died after being electrocuted Sunday while working on a power line on Stones River Road in Rutherford County. His funeral was held Wednesday. NES is calling Murphy's death an accident, but a spokesperson wouldn't elaborate on how it happened.


Farmer Dies When Bush Hog Falls Onto Him

August 19, ALMYRA, AR - 83 year old Marvin Lynn Jacobs was killed around noon Thursday when the bush hog he was working on fell on his chest and throat, apparently suffocating him. Deputy Robert Rowe said that Jacobs was apparently under the bush hog, taking the blades off, when the prop was knocked loose and the bush hog fell on him, cutting his right shoulder and crushing his throat, cutting off his oxygen.


Police Officer Dies During a Benefit Ride

August 22, EAST GREENBUSH, NY - 42 year old Office Ed Witko was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday in Petersburgh during a benefit ride. According to New York State Police, Witko somehow lost control of his motorcycle, crossed the center line and crashed head on into an oncoming Toyota Camry on Route 2. Police say Witko had been on a sharp curve on a steep grade at the time.


Victim of Fatal Semi Truck Crash Identified

August 18, BEN LOMOND, AR - 30 year old Jeremy Royal died Wednesday close to Malvern, AR in a truck wreck. His wrecker blew a tire, lost control, and slammed head on into a tractor trailer. He was a driver for Bypass Diesel which has offices in Prescott and Nashville, AR.


Worker Crushed by Equipment Identified

August 13, MIDDLEBURG, FL - Reported as unidentified in last week's Weekly Toll, 42 year old Patrick William Johnson of Middleburg was the victim of an incident who worked for Acme Barricades. Johnson was repairing a crash cushion attached to the rear of a 1991 GMC work truck, according to the Sheriff’s Office incident report. He was underneath when the lift gate dropped, pinning his head to the ground.