Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Weekly Toll:Death in the American Workplace

Tree Cutter Dies After Fall

July 28, SANDY SPRINGS, GA - a 29 year old unidentified man fell to his death in Sandy Springs after the tree he was cutting snapped below him. The man plunged at least 60 feet when the tree toppled with him attached. The victim was part of a three-person crew from Superior Arbor Management Inc. of Dawsonville working behind a home.


Medical Helicopter Crash Kills Three

July 28, TUCSON, AZ - All three people aboard a medical helicopter were killed Wednesday afternoon when it crashed on a Tucson street. Air Methods, the Colorado company that operates the helicopter, said the pilot, flight nurse and paramedic were killed. No patient was on the flight. UPDATE: Authorities have identified the three medical personnel who died as 61 year old Alex Kelley, Pilot; 41 year old Parker Summons, Flight Nurse; and 28 year old Brenda French, Paramedic.


GDOT Worker Killed While Mowing Grass

July 28, ATLANTA, GA - 27 year old Slimar Constantino, a contract worker for the Georgia Department of Transportation, is dead after he was struck by a vehicle near Freedom Parkway Wednesday. Constantino was mowing the grass near Freedom Parkway and the Interstate 75 north off ramp when he was struck and killed when, for some reason, a driver lost control of his vehicle, jumped the median and struck the worker, say police. FOX 5 News has learned that the victim was working for Bromell Manicured Lawns.
PLEASE NOTE: It is being reported by another online news agency that another individual, 29 year old Filberto Caurrera De Jesus, was the individual who was killed in this incident. I am unable to get clarification by searching online regarding the correct name so I am including both.


Farmer Dies When Tractor Flips

July 28, ATHENS, GA - 70 year old Arthur Gish died after the tractor he was operating flipped and pinned him. The tractor then began to spill gasoline which ignited. Gish was unable to escape. Investigators say Gish had driven the tractor up a hill where it appeared to lose traction and then flipped.


Truck Driver Killed When Rig Struck by Train

July 27, DAYTON, TX - an unidentified tractor trailer driver died when his rig was struck by a freight train that pushed the truck nearly a mile down the tracks. Several 18-wheelers were loading railroad ties for a project when the accident happened. The driver of one of the 18-wheelers moved his rig onto the tracks and investigators say he likely never saw the train coming.


Two Killed in Fire at Auto Repair Shop

July 27, LOS ANGELES, CA - two unidentified people were found dead inside an auto repair shop that burned. Fire Capt. Jaime Moore said, “When this fire initially broke out, they tried to extinguish the fire using a garden hose and they delayed the 911 response because of their activities.” Officials have yet to release their ages and identities.


Farmer Dies in Tractor Accident

July 27, THURMONT, MD - 63 year old Charles W. Stone Sr. died when the tractor he was operating overturned, pinning him underneath. The weight of a hay baler and wagon attached to the tractor Stone was on caused the tractor to overturn and pin him, according to an agency news release.


Worker Electrocuted, Dies

July 27, HOPKINSVILLE, KY - 22 year old Chuck Pollard died over the weekend at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center after being hospitalized for almost a week. The Kentucky New Era reports Pollard suffered an electrical shock early last week while operating equipment at the Brazeway plant.


Nursery Worker Killed When Caught in Equipment

July 27, VALLEY CENTER, CA - Manuel Moreno, an employee of Evergreen Nursery, was killed when he got his arm caught in some conveyor belt equipment connected to a mulching machine on Tuesday morning. The accident happened as Moreno jumped from the machine to a nearby front end loader. Moreno fell and his arm got entangled in the belt and that forced his body forward, pinning his head. He died of suffocation at the scene, according to officials with the Oceanside Police Department.


Farmer Dies in Tractor Mishap

July 27, MERIDEN, CT - 82 year old David Bilger was killed Tuesday after apparently being run over by his tractor, police said. Bilger was found on the ground at his farm with a severe head injury. Police had received a report at 11:42 a.m. that an unoccupied tractor was going in circles at the farm, police said. The initial investigation indicates that Bilger may have been run over by the tractor after trying to hook it to a trailer, the police report states.


Crash Kills Tractor Trailer Driver

July 27, BLAKESLEE, PA - 53 year old Mark A. Lockwitch was killed Tuesday morning when the tractor-trailer he was driving went off Interstate 80 and struck several trees in a center median, state police in Hazleton said.


Construction Worker Hit and Killed Along Highway

July 27, RICHFIELD, OH - 41 year old Randy Roginski of North Royalton was killed while working along a highway in Ohio. Roginski was hit by a passing vehicle late Tuesday night. He'd been standing on the right shoulder alongside a single lane of traffic open on Interstate 271 just north of I-77 near Richfield, 17 miles south of Cleveland in northeast Ohio. Roginski was wearing a reflective vest at the time of the crash. He was pronounced dead at the scene.


Construction Workers Dies From Fall

July 27, HAMILTON HEIGHTS, NY - A 60-year-old construction worker slipped and fell to his death in Hamilton Heights on Wednesday afternoon, police said. The man was working on a chimney at 76 Edgecombe Avenue when he fell off the four-story building into a courtyard at the corner of 138th Street about 2 p.m., according to the building's super, Marc Gilbert.


Postal Worker Killed by Freight Train

July 27, WAYNE CITY, IL - 56 year old Phillip Beeson of Cisne, a veteran rural letter carrier for the Wayne City post office, was killed Tuesday morning when his mail vehicle was struck by a train at a rural crossing near the small Jefferson County village of Papertown. Officials said Beeson's car was struck by a Canadian National freight train shortly before 11:30 a.m. while he was on his delivery route.


Worker Killed After Being Pulled Into Paper Roller

July 26, CLAREMONT, NH - 34 year old Leo Gonyea of Enfield died after being pulled through a paper roller machine. Gonyea was found under the machine by a co-worker at APC Paper Co. in Claremont around 8:50 a.m. Monday. Fire Chief Peter Chase says Gonyea was out of the machine but suffering from cardiac arrest when rescue crews arrived. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.


Construction Worker Dies After Being Crushed by Equipment

July 26, LAS VEGAS, NV - 42 year old Jesus Rico died Monday after being crushed by a piece of equipment. Rico had been operating a bobcat front loader at the Hustler strip club construction site when for unknown reasons the large metal bucket attached to the front of the bobcat came down on him, an official said. The coroner's office said Rico suffered blunt chest trauma and suffocated.


Construction Worker Dies After Falls

July 26, CHATTANOOGA, TN - 31 year old Jimmy Henry Tovar of Acworth, GA died Monday afternoon in a fall at some apartments under construction on Pineville Road. Based on information collected during the investigation, the victim was standing on a five-gallon bucket on the third floor of one of the apartment buildings while attempting to sand a portion of the ceiling just beyond his reach. The bucket slipped from under him, causing him to fall head first 30 feet to the floor below.


Firefighter Collapses and Dies After Fire

July 26, OTIS, MA - 70 year old David Sullivan, a 25-year veteran of the all-volunteer Otis Fire Department died of a heart attack after helping to fight a multi-alarm fire in neighboring Tolland over the weekend.


Gold Store Owner Shot, Killed

July 26, WEST PALM BEACH, FL - 44 year old John Lauseng, owner of a gold exchange jewelry store, was shot and killed by 3 individuals robbing the store with semi-automatic weapons. Police say Lauseng was ambushed by two armed and masked suspects around 8:30 a.m. when he got to work. Once inside, he tried to escape and that's when he was shot twice in the arm and torso area.


Two Firefighters Killed in Crash

July 26, ROCKY MOUNT, VA - Posey Dillon and William "Danny" Altice, two members of Rocky Mount's Volunteer Fire Department, were killed while making their way to a house fire. A car broad-sided the truck as it sped through the intersection on the way to a fire. Sgt. Michael Bailey/Virginia State Police - "The fire truck was, of course, trying to avoid it... hit the curb. It was loaded with 1,000 gallons of water. Weight shift and other factors caused the truck to roll over," not just once, but three times, coming to a stop only after landing on a Mustang. Both firefighters were thrown from the truck... both died shortly after.


Road Construction Worker Hit and Killed

July 26, COFFEYVILLE, KS - 52 year Reinhold Blomquist III of Iola was killed in a collision with a semi-tractor trailer on Monday morning. The Kansas Highway Patrol said he was a construction worker on the project site when, while working in a construction zone, he was preparing to unload asphalt. Blomquist stepped into the path of a 1999 Peterbuilt semi-tractor trailer and was struck by the trailer portion of the semi.


Construction Worker Killed When Pinned Between Equipment

July 26, AKRON, OH - 52 year old Mark Mazzagotti was killed today in a construction accident at the Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility. Mazzagotti was an employee of Terik Roofing Inc., of Atwater. He was using a boom-lift machine to remove shingles from a roof under repair at the juvenile facility. When some of the shingles got stuck, Mazzagotti got out of the lift to dislodge them. The machine slipped into gear, pinning him against a large metal trash container, the patrol said.


Natural Gas Explosion Kills Two

July 25, PITTSBURG, PA - 46 year old Kevin Henry and another yet unidentified worker were killed when the natural gas well they were working on exploded. They were employees of Northeast Energy oil and gas exploration company, said Keith N. Mangini, president of Huntley & Huntley Inc. of Monroeville, which operates the shallow well. Routine maintenance was being done on one of two oil storage tanks when the explosion occurred. An investigation continues into the incident. UPDATE: Authorities have identified the second man who was killed in the explosion as 56 year old Andy Yosurack, Jr of Creekside.


Cab Driver Killed in Crash

July 25, LAS VEGAS, NV - an unidentified 76 year old cab driver was killed Sunday morning after plowing into a traffic pole and then an apartment building. Accident investigators believe the cab driver had just left the Palace Station hotel when he ran a stop sign and collided with the traffic pole before crashing into an apartment building.


Bridgeport Firefighters Killed in House Fire

July 24, Bridgeport, CT - Lt. Steven Velazquez and 49 year old Michael Baik, died while battling a house fire Saturday afternoon. They were found unconscious on the top floor of the three-story house after they sent out mayday calls, Deputy Fire Chief Robert Petrucelli said. The fire was reported sometime between 3:30 and 4 p.m. Velazquez and Baik were searching for people in need of rescue and ventilating the house, Petrucelli said.


Franklin County Deputy Dies in Wreck

July 24, POMONA, KS - 22 year old Samuel A. Smith a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy died Friday night after losing control of his patrol car. Smith was responding to a domestic disturbance call near Pomona, Kan. when the wreck happened shortly after 10 p.m. Smith was on California Road about four miles north of Williamsburg, Kan. when he lost control and struck a tree head on. The car then caught fire.


Two Die Working in Confined Space

July 24, SIOUX CITY, SD - 54 year old Robert Thompson and 35 year old Chad Elgert, both of Sioux City died while attempting to unclog a North Sioux City sewer. The two employees of Sioux City, Iowa-based Speedy Rooter were overcome by fumes while working on the sewer on July 10. The men's families say Thompson passed out from the fumes and Elgert had tried to rescue him.


Cable Installer Dies After Fall From Ladder

July 23, TERRE HAUTE, IN - 27 year old Kyle Alan Torgersen apparently fell from a ladder while working in an alley in the 200 block of South 23rd Street sometime Friday. He died from head trauma. Det. Dale Blunk said it was unclear how high Torgersen was on the ladder when he fell, but he was not wearing a safety harness or hard hat. It is also unclear whether the man slipped from the ladder, fell or experienced difficulty because of the extreme heat of the day, he said. Torgersen was employed by Utili-Comm South Inc., a Georgia-based company.


Huntsville Secretary Finds Boss Murdered at Work

July 23, HUNTSVILLE, AL - 60 year old Herbert Gray was found shot to death at the office of Graytronix Systems Friday morning. The secretary said the door to the building was unlocked and the alarm was off, which she said was unusual. She said she found Gray in his office on the floor. That's when she called 911. Gray was the owner of Graytronix Systems Inc., a local electronics repair shop, which was where the murder happened.


Falling Pipes Kill Oil Field Worker

July 20, LUSK, WY - Boyd Bannon was killed when 50 tons of pipe fell on him. J.D. Danni with the state worker safety program says Bannan was a laborer for Buck Creek Freight, a company that does work for the oil and gas industry. Danni says a four-and-a-half-foot tall rack holding 93,000 pounds of well casing joints collapsed on Bannan.


Parks Worker Found Dead

July 19, ST.PETERSBURG, FL - Alan Avant, was found deceased in the Forest Bluff Parks on Monday afternoon. He was last seen alive by a co-worker at around noon. He was later found lying on the ground near the riding lawnmower he was operating at around 3 p.m. Police say there is no obvious evidence of any injury. They say it appears that Avant may have suffered a serious medical episode leading to his death.


Maintenance Worker Missing Since July 4 Found Dead

July 4, Niagara Falls, NY - 67 year old John Adams, a One Niagara employee who had been missing since July 4 has been found dead (July 23) -- the victim of a workplace accident, police said today. His body was found after police reviewed surveillance video. The video showed that Adams had reached into the compactor to retrieve a bin and became trapped and then crushed by the device. Because the compactor was self-contained, it became nearly impossible for co-workers or others to realize what had happened -- until a check of the video revealed the accident, police said.

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