Saturday, August 06, 2011

Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

Worker Falls Unconscious While Mowing Along Highway

August 5, MADISONVILLE, KY - 54 year old Anthony W. Stevenson of Hopkinsville died after an accident while mowing along the Edward T. Breathitt Parkway. Authorities say for an unknown reason Stevenson slumped over the steering wheel while the mower was in motion. It crossed both lanes of the parkway before he was knocked off and the mower ran over him.


Officer Fatally Injured While Escorting Funeral

August 5, MONTGOMERY, OH - 51 year old Roy Sims of Fort Wright, KY was fatally injured when his motorcycle collided with a hearse. Sims was escorting a private funeral procession when the accident occurred. Sims was a Northern Kentucky University police officer but was off-duty from that position at the time.


Transit Driver Dies of Heart Attack, Bus Left Idling

August 4, EDISON, NJ - Thomas Truex, a New Jersey Transit driver, died of a heart attack Thursday. Truex, of Edison, failed to return from his last stop in Manhattan and after five hours a supervisor went looking for him. He was found slumped over in the passenger seat of the bus. An autopsy determined he died of a heart attack.


Truck Driver Pinned in Equipment

August 4, VINTON, VA - 54 year old Mark Edward Creasy died Thursday after being pinned between the cab of his truck and a trailer filled with wood chips. A sheriff's spokesman said Creasy became pinned as he tried to hook his Peterbilt cab to a trailer at a logging site on Old Fire Tower Lane in Snow Creek. A co-worker found him later that morning.


Semi Driver From Canada Killed in Crash

August 3, WAVERLY, PA - 49 year old Marek Przybyla of Brantford, Ontario was killed when his tractor trailer crashed and caught fire while going off the Waverly exit. He died of burns and carbon monoxide poisoning. According to the Lackawanna County Coroner Przybyla was a diabetic recently placed on insulin and that a blood test will be completed to determine his blood sugar level and metabolic state at the time of the fatal crash.


Truck Driver Crushed Under Giant Hay Bales

August 3, NEWTON, KS - 51 year old Dennis Augustin of Dubuque, IA died Wednesday as the result of being crushed under giant round hay bales. Augustin was getting ready to unload the hay outside of Newton when 13 bales slid off his flatbed, sheriff’s deputies said. OSHA is investigating.


Airport Worker Crushed Under Hydraulic Lift

August 2, ATLANTA, GA - 29 year old Eric Lee of Cartersville died after being crushed under a hydraulic loading dock that somehow fell. Lee was working at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in a cargo area. Fire officials say Lee was semi-conscious when they arrived but were unable to get to him in time as it took a heavy duty crane to remove the lift.


Worker Dies of Head Injuries

August 1, ASHEVILLE, NC - 45 year old John Mark Crowe of Fletcher was killed while working on a sewer line Monday. Crowe, a Metropolitan Sewerage District employee, was bent over looking into a hole being worked on when a hydraulic hose on a backhoe broke. The hydraulic break caused the bucket of the backhoe to fall and hit Crowe in the back of the head. OSHA and Police are investigating.


Course Worker Crushed Under Machinery

August 1, CHESAPEAKE, VA - 42 year old Michael Costa of Camden, NC died Monday in an incident at Cahoon Plantation Golf Course. Costa was in charge of ground maintenance and it is reported he died of mechanical asphyxiation after being crushed under a lawn sprayer. Police and OSHA are investigating.


Construction Worker Dies From Fall

August 1, MANHATTAN, KS - 26 year old Zachery John Wilson of Council Grove died Monday while he was doing masonry work at the Bill Snyder Family Stadium where renovations are underway. Officials say a wooden plank Wilson was standing on shifted, creating a hole in the scaffolding that he fell through, sending him to the ground several stories below. He died on site after falling 100 feet.


Man Killed While Working on Excavator

July 31, MIFFLIN, OH - 48 year old Douglas Winter died while working on a piece of excavating equipment. “He was working on it. The cab was raised up,” a spokesman said. Further information on cause or manner of Winter's death is unavailable at this time.


Tow Truck Driver Killed in Hit and Run

July 31, ARVADA, CO - 41 year old Alan Dilley, a tow truck driver from Wheatridge, was killed when a vehicle hit him as he was preparing to tow a vehicle. The driver of the other car was arrested a short time later. Dilley was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Dilley worked for Connolly's Tow Truck.


Worker Dies After Accident at Plant

July 31, PEORIA, IL - 51 year old David Hezlet of Cuba, IL died Monday after an incident at the Keystone Steel & Wire Co. plant. Hezlet was driving a golf cart when for an unknown reason it veered off the path and into a horizontal I-beam. He was pinned inside the cart and suffered multiple chest and abdomen trauma. Hezlet is the second employee to die at this plant in July.


Worker Crushed Under Geothermal Pipes

July 31, CALIPATRIA, CA - 39 year old Michael Meadows of Bakersfield, CA died after he was crushed under falling pipes at CalEnergy's Geothermal plant near Calipatria. Meadows was helping others to load geothermal pipes onto a truck when a few of them slipped off the truck and fell onto him.


Store Manager Dies After Trying to Stop Thief

July 31, KENT, WA - 52 year old Brody Koga of Sea Tac died Sunday from head injuries he sustained Thursday while chasing after a shoplifter. Koga, an assistant manager for Rite Aid, was running to stop a man who had stolen a carton of cigarettes. He tumbled over some bushes atop of a retaining wall behind the store and hit his head hard. He was taken to an area hospital where he never regained consciousness.


Officer Dies After Physical Fitness Test

July 30, BUENA PARK, CA - 31 year old Daniel Ackerman, a Buena Park officer training for the SWAT Team, died Saturday at a local hospital. After the grueling physical fitness test, he became disoriented and was taken to a hospital. He started showing improvement but very quickly his condition went downhill. They found internal bleeding and his veins started collapsing. An exact cause of death is pending.


Man Dies in Explosion

July 30, WILSON, OK - 35 year old Jerry Cochran suffered fatal injuries in an explosion and fire at the Saltwater Disposal in Wilson on Saturday. Deputies think an oil tank in the area may have caused the fire. Cochran died en route to a local hospital.



Officer Dies in On-Duty Vehicle Crash

July 30, WINSTON-SALEM, NC - 28 year old Officer Russell Willingham died in the early morning hours after losing control of his cruiser. He went down an embankment and into some trees, trapping him in the cruiser. He was able to call for help but the vehicle was engulfed in flames by the time they arrived. He died at the scene.



Trucker Dies in Head On Crash

July 30, ANDERSON, NC - 69 year old Eddie Wyatt of Rockmart, GA was killed when his tractor trailer crossed the median on I-85 and collided head-on with another tractor trailer and other vehicles. The coroner's office said they believe Wyatt fell asleep at the wheel. The driver of the other truck also died (see below)as well as another driver who was caught up in the crash.



Semi Driver Killed When Hit by Another Rig

July 30, ANDERSON, NC - 38 year old Clay Johnson of Charlotte, NC was killed when a tractor trailer crossed the median and crashed into his truck. Authorities believe the other trucker fell asleep at the wheel before crossing the median. Johnson, the other truck driver and a driver of a pick up were killed. Several others were injured.



Firefighter Killed in Accident

July 31, SALISBURY, MA - Tim Oliveria, a Salisbury Firefighter and mechanic, was killed Friday in an accident at headquarters. Oliveria was working on a department vehicle when it slipped from the jack and landed on him. Investigators are working on determining how the vehicle slipped from the jack.


Wall Collapse Kills Construction Worker

July 29, HANOVER, MD - 27 year old Leon Ray Sax of Hanover, PA died and another worker seriously injured when a pre-cast concrete wall collapsed at the site of Maryland Live! construction site in Hanover. Sax was in a construction elevator when the wall fell on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Maryland OSHA has taken over the investigation.


Trucker Run Over by Own Rig

July 29, VERMONT - 70 year old Reginald Bailey of Lebanon, NH was killed when he was struck and run over by his rig on I-89. He had pulled his rig over and was standing in front of it when it rolled forward, hitting and dragging him.


Incident at Rail Car factory Claims Worker Life

July 29, MARMADUKE, AR - 28 year old Joshua Buchanan of Brookland died as the result of an unspecified incident at the American Railcar Industries factory. Few details have been released and OSHA is handling the investigation.


Construction Worker Crushed in Equipment Incident

July 28, WILLISTON, ND - 19 year old Jesus Zaragoza of Ohio died while working on a home construction site in Williston. Zaragoza was helping a crew with backfilling the footings of a house when he became crushed between one of the cement footings and a skid steer.


Dozer Operator Falls Into Track of Machine

July 28, ROME, PA - 35 year old Leonard Inness III of Elmira, NY suffered fatal crushing injuries at the site of a natural drilling site. Inness was reportedly standing up on the machine, when he lost his balance and fell into the dozer track, and was run over. Inness was an employee of OndaLay Pipe of Mansfield; its parent company, Furgeson Enterprises.


Wyoming Deputy Dies Attempting Rescue

July 28, DOUGLAS, WY - 29 year old Bryan P. Gross of the Converse County Sheriff's office, disappeared Thursday after entering the North Platte River to assist a struggling girl. His body was found Sunday July 31. The girl survived, but Gross was swept away in the river swollen by heavy snowmelt.


Man Killed at Construction Site

July 28, WILLISTON, ND - an unidentified 19 year old man was killed on a residential construction site Thursday. He was killed while the crew was backfilling the footings of the house that was being built. "He got stuck between the cement footings and the skid-steer (Bobcat)," police spokesman Collings said. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center and was later pronounced dead.


Logger Killed by Falling Tree Limb

July 26, SPRINGVILLE, CA - 43 year old Scott Hall Means died Tuesday during a timber harvest operation in Mt. Home State Demonstration Forest. Reports say Means had just felled a tree when apparently a limb that either came from the tree he cut down or from a nearby tree, broke free and fell on him. Means was a tree faller for Guy Van Gaasbeek who has the contract for the timber sale in the state forest.








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