Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

Bouncer Stabbed to Death in Bar

May 7, ORLANDO, FL - 25 year old Milton Torres, a bouncer at The Lodge bar, was stabbed early Saturday morning while working. He later died. A suspect in his death has been arrested and charged with Torres' murder.




Store Manager Gunned Down During Robbery

May 6, CHICAGO, IL - 57 year old Edward Jernigin was found dead Friday inside the Wahash Food and Liquors store he managed. He was found shot in the head inside a back room and the door to the store was locked. A source indicated a safe was open inside the office. Police were hoping surveillance video can shed some light on what happened.



Tow Truck Driver Killed Doing His Job

May 6, DALLAS, TX - 28 year old Jose Martinez a tow truck driver assistant who was doing his job, was shot and killed at a Dallas apartment complex early Friday morning. Martinez and another employee for Longhorn Wrecking were making their rounds when an irate tenant approached them from behind and began shooting. The driver of the tow truck was armed and shot the tenant, but not before the tenant shot and killed Martinez, who was a passenger in the tow truck.



Man Delivering Pizza on Bike is Struck and Killed

May 6, BROOKLYN, NY - 22 year old Luis Torres died after he was struck by a hit and run driver. Torres was on his bike delivering pies for Amnon Kosher Pizza when he was hit by a Budget box truck, police and family said. The driver of the truck attempted to flee but was apprehended a block away and is expected to be charged. Torres and his wife moved to Brooklyn from Ecuador two years ago to save money for their 2 year old daughter.



Road Construction Worker Killed While Operating Equipment

May 6, UNION, NJ - 33 year old Segundo Padilla of Newark was killed around 8 a.m. this morning in a work accident at Lenape Park in Union when a six-ton roller he was operating toppled down a shallow embankment. Padilla had smoothed over approximately 500 feet of trail off Springfield Road and into Lenape Park when the Ingersoll Rand roller he was operating apparently toppled off an edge. His body was discovered by fellow employees who notified Union County Police and the Kenilworth Fire Department, which assisted in the extrication.


Tanker Driver Killed When Hit by Truck

May 6, WINSTON-SALEM, NC - George Taylor of Kernersville was killed while delivery fuel to a local mini mart. Taylor was outside of his truck when it rolled back, hitting and running over him. Taylor died from injuries caused by the collision. He was from was an employee of Reliable Tank LLC.


Cemetery Worker Found Dead

May 5, SPOTSYLVANIA, VA - 27 year old Uriah Durham, a Laurel Hill Memorial Park employee, was killed while installing the foundation for a grave marker on Thursday. When rescuers arrived they found Durham beneath the bucket of a loader attached to a tractor. His death appears to be accidental but is being investigated as suspicious.



Transportation Worker Killed in Vehicle Crash

May 4, MOUNTAIN HOME, AR - 68 year old Vaughn Pierson died and another worker was injured when their company vehicle was hit from behind and overturned. Pierson was the passenger of the vehicle that was driving west on Arkansas Highway 88 at a low speed while painting lane markings on the highway. The work vehicle was hit from behind by another westbound vehicle, causing the work vehicle to overturn.


Truck Driver Dies of Crushing Injuries

May 4, DENVER, CO - 56 year old James Kemmerley was killed in an apparent industrial accident in Northeast Denver. Kemmerley was a contract truck driver for MTS Freight, working with Macy's. The exact cause and manner of death is under investigation.



Landscape Worker Killed by Trolley

May 4, SAN DIEGO, CA - 64 year old Stephen Palmer Sr., of the Jamul area of San Diego County, suffered head trauma when he was hit by a trolley. Palmer worked for the Caltrans Imperial Landscape Crew based in San Diego and was on the tracks when a trolley approached and the driver honked the horn to alert Palmer. Palmer was not able to move off the track in time and was hit.



Injured Worker Dies of Injuries

May 4, WINFIELD, KS - 47 year old Steve Wiggs died of injuries he received from a fall last month at the Newell Rubbermaid plant. He had been hospitalized in Wichita since falling from a ladder. Wiggs worked for Rubbermaid for over 14 years at the time of his death.



Worker Dies as Result of Electrical Fire

May 3, BRADDOCK HILLS, PA - 36 year old Gary Cottrell Jr. of Pittsburg died Tuesday in an apparent electrical fire at a vacant hotel in Braddock Hills. He was part of a crew doing maintenance at the hotel when something sparked the fire. Firefighters found Cottrell in a mechanical room. The cause of the blaze and exact cause of death are under investigation.



Worker Struck and Killed by Falling Object

May 3, ORLANDO, FL - 58 year old Tracy Irwin was struck and killed Tuesday while working on a Cirque de Soleil show. Irwin, a subcontractor for the show working at the Amway Arena, was struck with a metal scaffold, which fell from a forklift near the old arena's west loading dock around 10 a.m. Tuesday. She died of her injuries at a local hospital. The show's owners and OSHA are investigating.





Milk Tanker Overturns Killing Driver

May 3, BERGEN, NY - 76 year old Gerald Olin Jr. of Perry, who was driving a tanker truck carrying milk, was killed when the truck overturned on a curve. When the truck overturned, the cab was badly crushed. Olin was a contractor for Upstate Farms dairy, which is based in the Buffalo area.



Project Manager Dies From Fall at Construction Site

May 3, IOWA CITY, IA - 46 year old Terry Simmons died as the result of a fall at a construction site of the new federal courthouse building. Simmons was project manager for Ryan Companies. No one witnessed the accident, and it is unknown how far Simmons fell, according to Ryan Companies President Marc Gulliskson.



Store Clerks Shot to Death

May 5, DALLAS, TX - Eid Faltaous and Salah Zardeh was shot and killed by a homeless man who entered the King Market and argued with the owner. Police said the homeless man went inside the market in Oak Cliff and demanded money he said the owner owed him. He wounded the owner and killed Faltaous and Zardeh. He will still inside the store when the police arrived and surrendered to them.



Semi Driver Struck and Killed

May 3, GARY, IN - 60 year old Gregory A. Ingram of Decatur, AL was killed when he was struck by another driver when he was parked along Indiana I-80. Ingram had parked on the side of the highway and was about to get back into his truck when a pickup drifted over from the right lane and the passenger mirror scraped the side of the semi's box trailer. It then hit Ingram, who was thrown onto the pickup and then to the ground. Ingram died at a local hospital of head trauma.



Tractor Trailer Driver Dies Behind the Wheel

May 3, CHELAN, WA - 55 year old Dennis Roberts of Medical Lake died this morning as he was driving a semi north on Highway 97. The truck veered off the highway and into a field, coming to a stop with striking anything. When emergency crews arrived, they found Roberts dead in the driver's seat. His death is under investigation although a medical condition is suspected.



Police Officer Dies From Injuries in Scuffle

May 2, WARTBURG, TN - 58 year old Office Ralph Braden has died from injuries he sustained while trying to arrest a suspect on April 22. After the altercation, which caused a shoulder injury, he was transported to the hospital and released later to his home. A few hours later his wife found him unresponsive. He was taken back to the hospital where he remained on life support until his death Monday.



Incident at Gas Well Site Claims Man's Life

May 1, CHENANGO, NY - 23 year old Charles Bevins of Buckhannon, WV died while working on a gas well drilling site. Bevins was directing the driver of a forklift, who was moving some steps into place to allow access to a trailer. The forklift rolled into a rut, and pinned Bevins against the trailer. Bevins was taken to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, where he died during surgery. His employer, Braden Drilling, is a contractor for Norse Energy.



Officer Shot and Killed

May 1, PHOENIX, AZ - Officer Rolando Tirado was shot and killed and another officer was injured Sunday morning. Both were Buckeye Police Officers but were working off-duty for El Gran Mercado. The officers contacted three male occupants of a vehicle that was driven recklessly on the property and that’s when an altercation with the occupants turned into a gun battle, said police. Tirado was killed in the shootout.



Woman Murdered at Work by Ex Husband

April 30, ELKO, NV - 42 year old Mary Inman was shot to death in the front area of Smith Power Products while she was working. A co-worker heard a loud noise coming from the front of the shop and when he went to investigate, he found Inman had been shot and killed. Inman's ex-husband had previously threatened her. After killing her he drove to Las Vegas and shot himself in a local motel.


Chemist Dies in Explosion and Fire in Laboratory

April 30, ABERDEEN, MD - Dr. Nanaj Bhamare, an organic chemist with the HEAT Center, died in an explosion and fire at a laboratory at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Officials at Aberdeen Proving Ground have still not provided details about the accident except to say that Dr. Bhamare died the afternoon of April 30 in an explosion and subsequent fire at the laboratory. The incident is still under investigation.


Shop Owner Crushed Under Truck

April 30, MILLADORE, WI - 47 year old James G. Zellner was killed when a truck he was working on fell on him. Zellner, who owned Zellner Tire Service, was working on a utility truck when it fell off a hydraulic jack, pinning him under its rear portion, according to a news release from the Wood County Sheriff’s Department. He was transported to a local hospital where he died of severe lower extremity trauma.



Pharmacy Owner Shot and Killed During Robbery

April 29, TRENTON, NJ - 54 year old Arjun Dyapa Reddy was shot in the chest by a masked man who tried to rob him of prescription pills. Medics tried to rush 54-year-old Arjun Dyapa Reddy to the hospital, but he was already dead. Reddy owned the Brunswick Pharmacy. Police have a good description of the suspect they are searching for.



Tire Separation Causes Tractor Trailer to Crash, Driver Killed

April 29, SAN ANTONIO, TX - 52 year old Jose Trinidad Santos was killed in a single vehicle incident in rural Guadalupe County. Santos was driving a 1996 tractor-trailer when part of the truck's left steering tire tread separated, causing him to lose control, according to DPS Trooper Christopher Germany. Santos' vehicle ran off the side of the road before striking trees.



Cable Installer Crushed Under Machinery

April 29, ANDREWS, NC - 41 year old Sonia Luther Gregory was killed Friday, when a 2,000-pound trenching machine fell on her while she was working a cable job in Graham County. Gregory was using the machine to install cable on Carolina Vista Road when it tipped over and landed on her. Gregory, a private contractor who often installed cable for phone companies, was declared dead at the scene.



Cab Driver Found Dead Next to Taxi

April 29, CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - 54 year old Cathy Stickley was found dead of stab wounds to the head and neck in an alley next to her taxi cab. Her death has been ruled a homicide. She died at the scene after medical personnel tried to revive her. Stickley drove cab for Century Cab.


Deceased Vineyard Worker Identified

April 29, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA - 22 year old Federico Nicolas of Santa Maria was identified as the man killed in an accident involving farm equipment. Nicolas died from blunt force trauma when the tractor he was operating collided with another tractor on the Pacific Vineyard Company property at 5878 Edna Road. Cal-OSHA has taken over the investigation.


Maintenance Worker Electrocuted

April 28, BETHEL, AK - 51 year old Clifford Soots, a maintenance worker for Yukon Kuskokwin Health Corp., died of apparent electrocution while fixing a pump at the headquarters of the regional health corporation, authorities said. He was working in a utility room on a pump when he was shocked unconscious. He died a short time later.



Mechanic Crushed Under Rolling Semi

April 27, OGDEN, AR - 59 year old Gary Walker of Ashdown was hit and killed by a tractor trailer that he was going to work on. He was a mechanic for Harrington Forestry and Maintenance was called to fix the brakes on the big rig. He told the driver to set the brake but before the driver could get back to the cab, the truck began rolling backwards, crushing Walker under the rear tandem tires.






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