Mobile Equipment Accidents 7

Mobile Equipment Accidents #7

This page was last updated on  05/06/2010

UPDATE Firms fined over forklift accidents Aug 29 2003
By Elwyn Roberts
TWO North Wales firms yesterday ended up with bills of nearly £20,000 for injuries to workers caused by forklift truck accidents. One woman had a broken leg, while in a separate case a worker escaped with his life after being crushed by a truck. In both cases, the Health and Safety Executive said the accidents had been avoidable and warned that workplace transport accidents accounted for 70 fatalities and 1,500 serious injuries a year. Paint manufacturers BASF Coat-ings Ltd, based on Tenth Avenue on the Deeside Industrial Park, was fined £8,000 with £2,876 costs after Flintshire magistrates heard how a worker was crushed by a faulty forklift truck. Later tissue manufacturer John Dale Ltd of Castle Park in Flint, was fined £8,000 with £752 costs after a woman was knocked down by a forklift truck and suffered a double fracture of the leg. Factory inspector Neil Rowley said Joseph Jackson was employed at BASF Coatings and wanted to check on the well-being of contractors who were working on another floor level. The stairs were blocked and he stood up on the forklift truck, but he touched a lever and was crushed between the mast and the cab. Mr Jackson, who was rescued by one of his colleagues, suffered bruising and needed hospital treatment. The company admitted failing to maintain the truck in good and efficient order, and operating the truck without it being examined for defects. Rob Elvin, defending, said the company took its health and safety responsibilities very seriously. He said standing on the forklift truck was against the training and company policy. The company was taking part in a health and safety initiative, new practices had been introduced, and it was not a case of turning a blind eye, he said. In the other case case, factory inspector Ian Evans said Caroline Carter, 20, had been walking towards the warehouse doors at John Dale Ltd when a forklift truck emerged. She suffered a double fracture of the leg and would be in plaster for six months. Plastic strips over the door had been clear to start with but it had not been possible to see through them. There had been no system in place to keep them clean and replace them as necessary. The company admitted failing to maintain the plastic curtain and failing to ensure that pedestrians and forklift trucks were kept separated in the workplace. Gary Smith, defending, said it was a family-run firm which took its responsibilities seriously. Miss Carter had been visited many times and had been assured that she would be properly compensated. Since the accident, all plastic curtains had been removed and another method would now be used. 

Boy, 7, dies in fork-lift truck accident 
A seven-year-old boy has died in an accident in a warehouse involving a fork-lift truck. A roll of paper is believed to have fallen on Harry Palmer, from Chadwell St Mary, Essex, while he was at the warehouse at Tilbury Docks. It is believed the seven-year-old’s father may have been working at the premises, thought to be a paper factory. An investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the accident. An Essex police spokesman said: “A seven-year-old boy has died following an incident at the Tilbury Docks, which involved a fork-lift truck. The boy was certified dead at the scene. The incident took place at around 4pm on Friday. “The circumstances of the death are being investigated by the Port of Tilbury Police, Essex Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).” Harry’s parents had separated and he lived with his mother and two older sisters. An HSE spokesperson said: “It is believed that a roll of paper may have fallen on the boy from a forklift truck. “We are going on site on Monday to carry out a full investigation.” 

Company fined after forklift horror
BY TED JEORY August 30, 2003 06:02 
AN HGV driver was left blind after being crushed against his lorry by a forklift truck driven by an untrained operator, a court heard. Anthony Sadler also needed to have his spleen removed in the near fatal accident at a stationer’s depot in Colchester last summer, a judge at Chelmsford Court heard yesterday. In a case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Ian Smith (Stationers) Ltd was fined £20,000 for failures to meet its strict code of practice aimed at minimising the risk of injuries. The firm had admitted failing to prevent such risks at an earlier hearing. A lorry driver of 37 years’ experience, Mr Sadler, who was not employed by the family-run company, was making his regular delivery to the depot in Commerce Way on June 6 last year, the court was told. Matthew Taylor, prosecuting, told the judge he parked his lorry outside the depot and asked for help unloading a single palette of envelopes. Company employee Mark Freeman, who had joined the firm just three weeks earlier, went to ask his branch manager what he should do. But as his manager was busy, director Duncan Jones instructed Mr Freeman to use a reach-type forklift truck believing he was qualified to do so, the court heard. In fact, Mr Freeman had only received one day’s formal training on a different type of truck – and that was nine years ago, the judge heard. Minutes later, Mr Freeman, who no longer works for the company, “panicked” as his foot slipped from the pedal and struck Mr Sadler at least twice, crushing him against his lorry. Mr Sadler, from Northampton, was taken to Colchester General Hospital, where he was also treated for lacerations to his kidney and liver. He now has to be cared for by his wife and was not in court for the sentencing. Hugh Hamill, mitigating, said the Midlands-based company had admitted its failure to comply with the HSE code of practice and that Mr Jones was acting outside his remit. Since the “isolated incident”, it had employed a consultant to tighten up its “ambiguous” health and safety procedures, he told the court. These included keeping forklift truck keys locked away from unqualified drivers, he added. Passing sentence, Judge Christopher Ball QC said: “I am satisfied Mr Freeman was only permitted to drive on that occasion because of the unfortunate intervention of Mr Jones. “It appears that the company was aware of the need for training, but not of the high standards laid down by the HSE. “The company was one without any blemish in health and safety matters until that incident. But there were terrible injuries to Mr Sadler as a result of the accident. “With proper training this unfortunate accident would not have occurred.” The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £3,334 costs. After the hearing, Duncan Jones, said: “We are terribly sorry for what happened – we thought we were taking the correct procedures.” Paul Downer, investigating officer for the HSE, also said outside the court: “There are about 8,000 forklift injuries reported to us each year. They create terrible suffering for the families’ involved – we cannot stress enough the importance of adhering to our safety procedures.” 

Worcester parks worker killed trying to stop runaway tractor
Thursday, August 21, 2003 
WORCESTER, Mass. – A Worcester Parks Department employee mowing grass at Green Hill Park was killed when he tried to stop a runaway lawn mower, and was crushed beneath the heavy machine, police said. Police said James Mitchell, 54, of Worcester, had stopped the large-capacity mower and shut it off Wednesday afternoon. When the mower started rolling down a hill, Mitchell attempted to stop it, and was run over by the machine. Detective Capt. Paul F. Campbell said the mower attachments, which lower from the sides of the machine, were shut off and in the upright position at the time of the accident, and the cutting blades were not moving. Detective Sergeant Mark Richardson said Mitchell suffered crushing injuries when he fell beneath the runaway machine. He was dead on arrival at U-Mass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus at 2:40 p.m. An autopsy was to be performed, a hospital spokeswoman said. Mitchell was a heavy-equipment operator, and had worked for the city since 1996.

Worker At Marion Limestone Pit Injured; Rescuers Work To Save Victim
Story by WESH.com 
Firefighters rescued a worker hurt in a construction accident Thursday near the community of Zuber. Charles McCrone, 23, was apparently driving a front-end loader around a limestone pit at Alliance Construction Materials, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported. The pit is used for the disposal of old construction materials. The wall of the cliff reportedly collapsed under the weight of the loader, and McCrone tumbled over. He was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and was transported to a hospital. McCrone was not seriously hurt. 

Girl, 6, dies in forklift accident
LEONI TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 6-year-old girl died after being run over by a forklift driven by her 10-year-old brother, police said. The children were at Lindsay Heating & Cooling with their mother’s boyfriend, who owns the business, when the accident happened Sunday, Leoni Township police said. The girl, identified as Arika Hamilton, was taken to a hospital, where she later died. An investigation was continuing. Leoni Township is near Jackson, about 80 miles west of Detroit.

Acid Spill In Vestal 
Dustin Wadsworth Aug 15, 2003, 17:08
A hazardous materials crew was called to Vestal Asphalt where almost 200 gallons of Hydrochloric or Muriatic acid spilled. A forklift operator dropped a container causing it to rupture. Greg Kapeghian from Broome County HAZMAT says, “It’s a tote container, their’s a steel cage around i which, inside that steel cage is a plastic tote material, and it just fell over and the top of hat cracked making the product leak out.” The HAZMAT response team neutralized the acid and Vestal Asphalt cleaned up the spill. It took about 4-hours for the clear up the situation. 

Woman struck by tow motor at Caledonia plant
By Staff Reports
MARION — A tow motor accident at a Caledonia-area brick plant injured a Marion woman about noon Friday. Barbara Hassel, 68, 2671 Curren Drive, Marion, was struck by a tow motor at 12:01 p.m. at Glen-Gery Brick, 5692 Rinker Road, Caledonia, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office news release states. Hassel was transported by a First Consolidated Fire Department emergency squad to Marion General Hospital after the accident. The employee then was transferred by LifeFlight emergency helicopter, said Capt. Al Hayden of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. She was treated in the emergency room of Marion General and transferred, a hospital nursing supervisor said. No further information was available. Hassel apparently walked from a “blind corner” into the path of a tow motor full of bricks being operated by another worker, a sheriff’s office news release states. The incident was classified as an industrial accident and the sheriff’s office investigation has concluded. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been contacted about the incident. 

Company Fined after Death of Teenage Forklift Operator 
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
The U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division has fined the Newnan, Ga.-based Kaylex Company $11,000 following the June 2003 death of a 15-year-old forklift operator. Under the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the operation of a forklift is one of 17 hazardous occupations banned for youth under the age of 18. The $11,000 penalty is the maximum allowed under current law. However, the Bush administration’s 2004 budget submission to Congress included a request to raise the maximum penalty to $100,000 for child labor violations, the department notes. The Wage and Hour investigation revealed that the youth was at the controls of a forklift in a warehouse when the vehicle suddenly went into reverse, ran through the loading dock gates, flipped over and plunged four feet onto a concrete floor. The teen driver was reportedly pinned under the forklift and died on the way to the hospital. “This was a preventable tragedy,” says Tammy D. McCutchen, administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. “The restrictions on youth employment are designed to provide young workers with safe and positive early work experiences. Employers must understand and comply with these laws to prevent serious occupational injuries and fatalities among youth. Forklift stickers warning ‘no operators under age 18’ can be downloaded from our web page, and I encourage employers to place these stickers on all their forklifts.” Kaylex officials cooperated fully with Wage and Hour investigators and have indicated that they will comply with all provisions of the FLSA in the future, according to Wayne Kotowski, assistant district director for the Wage and Hour Atlanta district office. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the incident. 

Injured construction worker released from Medical Center
By Brad Greenberg DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
A construction worker at the Physics and Astronomy Building work site was released from the hospital Saturday after being pinned by a forklift Aug. 4. The accident happened around 12:30 p.m. when Anthony Roman, 22, an employee of glass contracting company Marc Anthony Glazing, attempted to stabilize the forklift’s load of more than 30 panes of glass, according to witnesses at the scene. “I just stopped for a minute, and the next thing I knew I was caught under (the forklift),” Roman said Aug. 7 from the intensive care unit at the UCLA Medical Center. According to an investigation by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Roman was pulled under the forklift when his right foot interfered with the tire tread as the forklift wheeled around the perimeter of the construction project. Roman said his legs suffered no injuries other than a dull aching, but the driver side’s front tire broke seven ribs and his left shoulder. The right side of his face was forced against the ground, leaving him bleeding from his mouth, nose and ears, according to CAL OSHA. Roman was in critical condition when he arrived at UCLA Medical Center. Amy Waddell, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said patients who are in critical condition display unstable vital signs, may be unconscious or are in jeopardy of dying. The accident occurred a week after Marc Anthony Glazing arrived on campus to install windows in the new Physics and Astronomy Building. The forklift was driven by David Strobridge, another employee of Marc Anthony Glazing, according to CAL OSHA. Strobridge did not return multiple phone calls for comment last week. CAL OSHA investigator Jose Cedro said it is not clear what caused the accident and that his investigation is focusing on whether Marc Anthony Glazing is at fault. The owner of Marc Anthony Glazing could not be reached for comment after several phone calls last week. Though Roman said he was scared when he was trapped under the forklift and bleeding heavily, he is not upset about what happened. “I’m over it; accidents happen,” he said. “The important thing is I am alive.” Accidents regularly happen on construction sites, but they’re rarely of this caliber, Cedro said. “I have seen several accidents with forklifts, but this is the first time the whole body was run over,” he said.

Boy crushed to death by forklift
The Associated Press – SMYRNA, Ga.
A 5-year-old boy was crushed to death Friday when a forklift fell on him at an apartment complex. The child, who was not immediately identified, was sitting on the lap of a man driving the forklift Friday morning, police said. The forklift apparently slid from the sidewalk and overturned on the boy, said police spokesman Cpl. Brody Staud. Staud said the man was the boyfriend of the childs mother, who was moving from one building to another in the River Parkway Apartments. Her boyfriend, for some reason, brought a forklift to help them move, he said. Staud said he does not expect any charges to be filed in the case.

Worker dies in forklift accident
By Nicole Janok staff writer August 5, 2003
When Steve Sanford tried to turn and exit the steeply sloped parking lot, the small forklift turned over, slamming his head into the ground. HOBE SOUND— Faded skid marks are all that remain on the commercial parking lot where a man overturned his forklift Monday morning and died almost instantly. Steve Stanford, 43, co-director of Stanford Construction Inc., a family-owned construction company that specializes in shutters and landscaping, was moving materials from a small commercial building at 8872 S.E. Robwyn St. to another facility across the street. When he tried to turn and exit the steeply sloped parking lot, the small forklift turned over, slamming Stanford’s head into the ground, said Sgt. Jenell Atlas, spokeswoman for the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Lenny Brown, whose brother’s company works in the same building, said he heard the crash, but didn’t know what it was. After hearing a man yelling for help, Brown ran to Stanford, who was lying in a small pool of blood, and he checked his pulse. Stanford’s eyes were open, but he was motionless, Brown said. “In my heart, I knew he was already gone, but I hoped that he was in a comatose state,” Brown said. Knowing there was nothing more he could do, Brown said a prayer and waited for paramedics to arrive. Stanford was pronounced dead on the scene. The accident deeply disturbed Brown, who said he moved into the building just three days ago. “This had me rattled all day,” he said. Police and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration are investigating the incident. Brown said he didn’t think the parking lot had enough traction for the forklift to operate properly. “This isn’t an area you can really use a forklift,” he said. OSHA officials could not be reached for comment. Family members could not be reached for comment. 

UPDATE Firm fined over worker’s death 
A building firm has been fined £150,000 after one of its employees was run over and killed by a forklift truck. Harold Moran, 54, was knocked down as the truck reversed out of a compound at the site at Ashdown Downs in Kirkby, Merseyside, in September 2000. On Monday, McLean Homes North West and Cheshire Ltd was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £56,017 costs after being found guilty of a breach of health and safety regulations. The firm had pleaded not guilty, but was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court. Mr Moran was struck by the truck as he walked across a gateway at the site, where 91 homes were being built, and died at the scene. ‘Analyse dangers’ The Health and Safety Executive is warning other firms about the importance of managing vehicle safety. Neil Jamieson, Health and Safety Executive inspector, said: “On average around 70 people are killed and 1,200 seriously injured each year in workplace transport accidents. “These accidents are mainly caused by people being struck or run over by moving vehicles when reversing particularly in areas where people are not properly segregated from vehicle movements. “It is vital that managers of all types of workplace – not only construction sites – analyse the potential dangers posed by workplace transport and then take suitable safety measures to avoid these risks.”

Man dies in yard work mishap 
Sunday, August 03, 2003 From staff reports 
LEHIGH TWP. — A 47-year-old township man died Saturday morning when he was crushed by a piece of construction equipment at his home. Ernest Muthard of the 4500 block of West Township Drive was killed while trying to clear a stump from his yard with a Bobcat skid loader. A skid loader is a small piece of construction equipment that has a moveable bucket. Patrolman Doug Geisher of the Lehigh Township Police Department said Muthard got caught between the body of the machine and its bucket. Police are not sure whether Muthard drove the machine over a bump and was thrown from it, or if he was trying to get off of it. “I’m not sure we’ll ever know exactly what happened,” Geisher said. Muthard was pronounced dead at the scene by staff from the Northampton County Coroner’s Office. “It was a very tragic accident,” Geisher said. “There’s no suspicion that it was anything other than that.”

Child injured by forklift blades while in car.
EL MONTE, Calif. A forklift was struck by a car Friday and the blades hit an 8-year-old boy in the face as he sat in the front seat, police said. No arrests were made. The child, whose name was not disclosed, was listed in guarded condition at Greater El Monte Community Hospital, police Lt. George Hopkins said. The accident took place at about 4:30 p.m. as the boy’s mother drove down the street at about 25 mph, Detective Derek Merritt said. She apparently did not see the forklift blades jutting into the lane, police said. The forklift was backed to the curb between two parked cars as it prepared to unload a big-rig truck. The blades hit the hood of the car and crashed through the passenger’s side window, striking the boy in the face, Hopkins said. Merritt said investigators were trying to determine whether the forklift operator was required to have a flagman on the scene to alert cars to potential danger. El Monte is 22 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. 

Police investigating accident involving youth 
QUEBEC CITY – Local police are investigating an industrial accident involving a 13-year-old boy who is now on life support. 
Charles Picard, from Beauport, Que., suffered a cardiac arrest Monday after a damaged forklift he was helping guide onto a tow truck at his father’s factory toppled over on him. Police say Picard was doing some light cleaning work at the factory, Usinage Beauport 2000, when the accident occurred. Workers had to use another forklift to get the boy out from under the fallen forklift. “For our investigation, we have to determine if there was some sort of neligence on the part of the father, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for now,” says Quebec City police spokesperson Jean Minguy. “From what we know now, he was just there to help his father. He’s 13 years old — it wasn’t a summer job.” Minguy says the province’s work, health and safety board, the Commission de la Santé et de la Securité du Travail (CSST) is not investigating because the boy was not an employee of the factory. 

Plainview Girl Dies In Forklift Accident
PLAINVIEW–A 12-year-old girl died Sunday night when she was run over by a forklift. The accident happened at the Old Cotton Oil Mill Plant on the Dimmitt Highway. The Hale County Sheriff’s Department says Angelica Ramos and a friend were on the front of the forklift, when the vehicle hit a bump. Ramos was thrown to the ground and the forklift ran over her. The friend’s father was driving.

Industrial accident 
An industrial accident sent one man to the hospital Monday. It happened around eight Monday morning at the Tulsa Used Equipment and Industrial Engine Service at 5000 East Admiral Court. Rescue crews say a 45-year-old man working on a forklift had his left hand crushed by a hydraulic cylinder. He was then lifted some ten feet in the air. His other hand was also injured. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. 

Cigarette Ignites Fire
An explosive fire sent a plume of smoke into the East Lubbock sky Thursday morning. An employee at Hesselbein Tires was smoking a cigarette while loading propane onto a forklift. The combination of the two caused the propane tank to explode into flames around 7:30 a.m. Three stations responded and the Lubbock Fire Department was able to put the fire out within an hour. No one was injured, but damages are an estimated $80,000.

Worker is killed in construction accident
A construction worker was run over and killed by a heavy piece of equipment yesterday at a work site in Northeast Philadelphia. The worker, John Myers, 42, of Bensalem, was pronounced dead at Albert Einstein Medical Center. The accident occurred about 8:15 a.m. near Algon Avenue and Levick Street in Oxford Circle. Police accident investigators said Myers walked from behind a truck and apparently fell and was hit by a large backhoe-type vehicle that was backing up. The operator, identified as Willie James, 61, of West Philadelphia, did not see Myers, investigators said. James was taken to Jeanes Hospital after the accident, suffering from chest pains. He was listed in stable condition. No charges were lodged. Both men work for Seravalli Inc., a contracting firm in the Northeast. A spokesman there yesterday said, “We sincerely regret the incident and we are cooperating fully with all the parties investigating it.”

Council Bluffs man killed in forklift rollover 
COURTNEY BRUMMER , Staff Writer 07/25/2003 
OMAHA – A Council Bluffs man was killed Thursday morning at a construction site in Omaha when a forklift rolled over on top of him. James Kirk, 42, of Council Bluffs was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident occurred at the Quality Pork International worksite in southwest Omaha around 11:20 a.m. Kirk, a forklift operator, was working for KFR Inc., a company subcontracted by Dietzel Enterprises to work on installing a support wall at the business, according to Omaha Police Sgt. Cathy Cook. Kirk was operating an extended reach forklift when the accident occurred. “It appears he had been going down a narrow, dirt road and got too close to the edge,” Cook said. While the hill on the side of the road wasn’t steep, it was enough for the forklift to lose balance and start to slide. Cook said Kirk either tried to jump from the forklift or he may have thought the forklift had stopped moving and tried to get out when it turned over. When the forklift overturned, it pinned Kirk underneath. The forklift was estimated to be roughly 18,000 pounds, Cook said. Two people at the scene witnessed the rollover and called for emergency rescue. Cook said it is believed another piece of machinery was used to lift the forklift off Kirk, and she added the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is still investigating.

Worker’s Death An Accident
Posted July 25, 2003 1:12pm
A wobbly load may have caused a 13,000-pound forklift to tip, killing an Edwards man at an East Peoria Caterpillar plant in June. Sixty–two year old Bob Schmitt died inside Cat building N–N on June 11th. He was a long time employee of River City construction. On Friday morning, a Tazewell county coroner’s jury ruled his death accidental. The forklift Schmitt was operating did not have a seatbelt or a door—which is acceptable under OSHA standards. However, the coroner’s jury recommends that River City construction and Caterpillar install seatbelts and doors on all their machines. 

Worker pinned by machine, dies
By Pamela Perez, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Friday, July 18, 2003
BOCA RATON — Investigators are probing the death of a construction worker who was crushed by a lift machine Monday in a work-related accident. Firefighters found 49-year-old Aldo Lopez about 1 p.m. pinned to the ceiling of a parking garage by a platform lift machine at 101 Renaissance Centre, according to police. Emergency workers struggled for several hours to free Lopez’s body. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating how Lopez became trapped by the Genie Z-30/20 platform lift he had been operating. Lopez, an assistant superintendent, worked for two years as a labor foreman and carpenter for local Mummaw & Associates Inc., which is building the structure for Penn-Florida Companies and PBM Development. The work-related death is the first major accident on a Mummaw & Associates construction site, the firm said. OSHA inspectors found no violations of federal safety standards during two surprise inspections at the site this year. Being pinned by a machine, electrocuted, struck, and falling are the four most frequent causes for construction fatalities, OSHA area Director Louis R. Santiago said. Mummaw & Associates obtained visas and airfare for Lopez’s two adult children to fly from Argentina and join their mother for a funeral. 

Mechanic crushed to death at Ocean Breeze work site; Gruesome accident kills 47-year old in side yard of private home 
Sunday, July 20, 2003 By MICHAEL SCHOLL STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE 
A 47-year-old mechanic was killed in Ocean Breeze yesterday when he was crushed by a front-end loader. The gruesome construction accident happened around 1:15 p.m. in the side yard of a private home at 720 Liberty Ave. John Willis, of Staten Island, was repairing the loader when its shovel, which had been in the up position, suddenly shifted downward, according to Detective Brian Sessa, a police spokesman. The downward motion pinned Willis underneath one of the mechanical arms that connect the shovel to the loader’s frame. He was squeezed between the arm and the frame and ultimately crushed. Willis was pronounced dead at 1:50 p.m. in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, Sessa said. He was a mechanic employed by the Midland Beach branch of The Tool Depot, a firm that rents and sells tools and construction equipment. He had been sent to the site to repair a rented loader that workers were using to clear the home’s yard. Neighbors who came to aid Willis said it looked as if he got caught in the loader’s machinery while working on the vehicle. One neighbor, Manuel Perez, said the yard workers reacted in horror as they saw Willis being crushed. “I heard somebody screaming,” said Perez, who was at a friend’s house across the street from the accident scene when he heard the workers wail for help. The yard workers joined Perez and a few more neighbors in a bid to free Willis from the machine. Three or four men who were working on a house under construction on nearby Buel Avenue also joined the rescue attempt. But the work was difficult. “We were struggling to get leverage,” said Perez, who said it took about five or 10 minutes to free Willis. By the time he was pried from the machine, Willis was critically injured. Perez said he showed no sign of a pulse. “He was non-responsive,” Perez said. Willis was loaded into an Emergency Medical Service ambulance that arrived at the scene in response to a 911 call. He was rushed to the hospital emergency room a few blocks away, but his injuries were too severe to be overcome. Detectives from the 122nd Precinct examined the accident scene yesterday and began an investigation into the incident. No charges had been filed against anyone as of last night. Calls placed to The Tool Depot’s Midland Beach, Port Richmond and New Brighton offices were not answered. The owner of the home at 720 Liberty Ave. could not be reached for comment.

Farming accident nearly kills a town employee
By Zeke Changuris
BOONSBORO, MD JULY 17 – A town worker in Boonsboro was almost killed when the tractor he was driving flipped over. It happened around 7:00 A.M. Thursday morning on the town farm in Boonsboro. The employee, Kennith Eshbaugh was bush-hogging or mowing a field along a stream embankment when it gave way. The tractor rolled over on top of him pinning him in the stream bed. Boonsboro Town Manager John Kendall said, “fortunately Kenny was able to hold on to the tractor so when it landed on top of him he was not injured seriously, as we speak.” Emergency crews said Eshbaugh was conscious and alert when they pulled him out. At last check, he was still at Washington County Hospital.

Forklift accident injures welder
July 16, 2003
Albany – A South Georgia man is seriously injured by a huge piece of steal that fell off a forklift. 40 year-old Charles Davis, of Camilla, was standing next to the forklift at a Mitchell County barn, when the hydraulic arm of the lift fell. Several sheets of metal slammed down on top of him. Davis was rushed to Phoebe Putney with visible injuries. As of Wednesday night, he was in fair condition. Davis is a independent welder in Mitchell County. 

Flagger crushed by dump truck – Investigators puzzling together how man died
2003-07-17 by Catherine Hawley Journal Reporter
BELLEVUE — A 56-year-old construction flagger was killed Wednesday when he apparently was crushed by a dump truck on Northeast 162nd Avenue. No one witnessed the accident, and investigators spent much of the rest of the day trying to figure out exactly what happened. Larry McMurchy of Seattle was pronounced dead at the scene. He was discovered under the 90,000-pound truck about 7:40 a.m. after another worker saw his flagger’s sign lying in the road but did not see him, said Marcia Harnden, Bellevue police spokeswoman. “The driver didn’t know anything happened” until a co-worker called to him to stop, Harnden said. Bellevue Fire Department crews extricated McMurchy, but he could not be revived. He was declared dead just after 8 a.m. Parts of 162nd Avenue and Northeast 26th Street in the residential area near Interlake High School were closed for five hours so that officials from local and state agencies could investigate the accident. McMurchy was part of a six-member crew from Emerald Construction of Seattle replacing a water line for a city utilities project. Just before the accident, the dump truck emptied a load of gravel, Harnden said. It was then backing south on 162nd when a worker noticed the flagger missing. The dump truck driver was a 39-year-old man from Eatonville, Harnden said. A chaplain from Eastside Fire and Rescue was called to the scene to speak with McMurchy’s co-workers. Efforts to reach Emerald Construction officials for comment were unsuccessful. The accident was the second in six weeks on the Eastside in which a dump truck crushed a flagger. On May 30, a truck backed over county roads worker Tonya Riexinger, 40, on Southeast Middle Fork Road near Snoqualmie. The state Department of Labor and Industries investigation into that incident won’t be complete for another month or two, said spokeswoman Elaine Fischer. Officials will compare the two accidents, she said, though it’s too early to speculate in either case why the worker could not get out of the truck’s way. “Flagger safety is a huge concern,” Fischer said. An autopsy by King County Medical Examiners may help explain what happened. Also investigating were Bellevue police and Washington State Patrol, which oversees commercial-vehicle accidents. Wednesday morning, investigators took measurements and photographs. They used a rolling board to slide beneath the truck and inspect the undercarriage. The truck’s warning signal could be heard when it was backed up a few feet. While they worked, a little farther down 162nd Avenue a long-handled stop sign, the kind flaggers use to direct traffic, rested upside down against a telephone pole. 

Man Killed In Metro Construction Accident
POSTED: 11:39 a.m. CDT July 17, 2003
OKLAHOMA CITY — A 71-year-old man helping build a home was killed in a construction accident. Wayne Brown was using a front-end loader Wednesday to hoist a 1,000-pound, 16-foot piece of angle iron when the iron came loose, slid down the loader’s arms and hit him in the head, Oklahoma City fire Maj. Brian Stanaland said. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene.

UPDATE Worker is killed in dock accident 
By RAY HENRY, Standard-Times staff writer
NEW BEDFORD — A 25-year-old worker was crushed to death by a falling metal cage near a waterfront loading dock off Hassey Street Monday morning, police and witnesses said. Luiz Garcia Gomez of Viall Street, a worker at Nebula Foods Inc., was repairing a pothole around 11:45 a.m. with his cousin and another man when a forklift at Big G Seafood on the loading dock above them hit a cable attached to a metal cage, said Lt. Richard M. Spirlet, a spokesman for the New Bedford Police Department. The cage, which was on a trailer, fell about 7 feet, bounced off the loading dock and hit Mr. Gomez on the head. “They yelled, two of them getting out of the way,” said Olivia Varao, part owner of Big G Seafood. She called 911 when she heard shouting outside her building, but the victim’s heart had stopped by the time rescuers arrived. He was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital and was pronounced dead shortly afterward. “Everyone feels pretty sad around here this morning,” Ms. Varao said yesterday. The forklift driver, George Smith, also a part-owner of Big G Seafood, was devastated by the accident, Ms. Varao said. Stunned, he collapsed into a chair after rescue crews arrived, and he was too upset to work his normal shift yesterday. The victim has several brothers and sisters in Guatemala, Ms. Varao said. Officials from Nebula Foods were unavailable for comment yesterday afternoon. City police, state police assigned to the District Attorney’s Office and officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident.

Man Dies After Accident At Seafood Plant; Victim Struck, Killed By Cage
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A New Bedford man is dead after an accident at a seafood plant in that city. Police said that 25-year-old Luiz Gomez was apparently struck by a steel cage that fell off a forklift Monday at Big G Seafood on Hassey Street. Gomez was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The accident is under investigation by local police and state police from the Bristol County District Attorney’s office. 

UPDATE Furnace operator dies from forklift injuries
Associated Press 
HAWESVILLE, Ky. — A furnace operator injured in a forklift incident at a plant in Western Kentucky died Friday of his injuries. Kenneth Horn, 60, of Owensboro, was pronounced dead at 7:04 a.m. CDT at Owensboro Mercy Health System, said Daviess County Coroner Bob Howe. Horn was injured in a July 2 incident at the Southwire Co. plant in Hawesville. Horn, who had worked at the plant for 34 years, suffered extensive head trauma and remained unconscious while at the hospital. Details of the incident are not yet known, and an investigation is ongoing, said Gary Leftwich, manager of communications for Southwire’s corporate headquarters in Carrollton, Ga. Leftwich said several employees have been interviewed, but no conclusion has been reached. 

Worker crushed under bag 
Jul 13, 2003
Ministry of Labour officials are investigating an industrial accident in Vaughan that claimed the life of a Toronto man Thursday. York Regional Police said the victim, Tameshwerdut Misir, 54, was operating a forklift at Royal Plastics on Pippin Road about 2:30 p.m. The forklift was carrying large bags of plastic pellets used in the molding of plastics. Mr. Misir got off the forklift and one of the bags, weighing more than a ton, fell on him. Mr. Misir was pronounced dead at the scene.

UPDATE OSHA Expects Investigation Of AK Steel Worker’s Death To Take Weeks 
Reported by: AP
OSHA area Director Richard Gilgrist says his office’s investigation of the death of an AK Steel worker will probably take at least two weeks. Ralph E. Jones, 41, of Waynesville, was killed today at the company’s Middletown steel mill. Gilgrist says Jones was killed when a two-thousand-pound crane block fell on him while he was operating a forklift at the steel mill. AK Steel and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident. The president of the Armco Employees Independent Federation at the plant says the mood there was solemn today. Union President Ed Shelley says the main concern now is Jones’ family. The union represents more than three-thousand employees at Middletown Works. 

Dallas man dies in forklift accident 
07/11/2003 From Staff Reports 
A 25-year-old man died Thursday night after a forklift fell on him at a Dallas trucking company. Tyrone D. Dison of Dallas drove a forklift off of a loading dock at about 10 p.m. Thursday at Con-Way Southern Express in the 5000 block of Calvert Street near Irving Boulevard, officials said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The Dallas County medical examiner had not ruled on a cause of death Friday morning. 

UPDATE OSHA fines company over worker’s death
July 10, 2003, 8:44 AM EDT
OGDENSBURG, N.Y. — The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a company $2,500 in connection with a fatal workplace accident. Gerald Smith, 49, of Norwood, died June 4 when he was using a cherry-picker-type lift to inspect upper elevators and the unit tipped over. OSHA cited Hoosier’s Magnetics of Ogdensburg for a serious violation, charging that Smith was not trained on the safe operation of the specific aerial life on which he was working at the time. The company has 15 working days to appeal the penalty. Company officials did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. 

Forklift fire ends in costly burnout at Pepsi bottling
July 7, 2003
Firefighters quickly put out a fire at a Portland bottling company Monday night. But not before it caused thousands of dollars in damage. The smoke could be seen in the air around the Pepsi bottling company on northeast Pacific Avenue, off of Sandy Boulevard. Investigators said a propane fueled forklift caught fire while loading a semi-trailer full of soda. The forklift caught the trailer and its contents on fire, and then the building itself. Total damage was estimated at $116,000. Officials believe the forklift propane tank leaked, and started the fire.

UPDATE Crown court sentencing over forklift truck accident
Brian Smith, 47, was working at a power press at his employers, Medway Ltd of Smethwick, last December when he was struck by a falling metal coil being transported by a forklift truck. He sustained serious leg injuries requiring extensive surgery to reconstruct the limb. Subsequent investigation revealed the forklift operator was inadequately trained and that Mr Smith was deprived of the application of immediate first aid as the company had no qualified person. Medway pleaded guilty at West Bromwich Magistrates Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in the circumstances of the accident and will be sentenced at Crown Court next month.

Teen dies in workplace accident 
Wednesday, July 9, 2003
Authorities are continuing to investigate the death of a young 16-year-old Easton man who died when the forklift he was operating at a local business overturned on July 1. Edward M. Duggan was operating the heavy machinery, reportedly at his family’s business, Republic Plumbing, at 257 Oak St. The accident occurred around 4:30 p.m. Police said workers at the scene could not revive Duggan after the forklift backed up on the loading dock ramp, crushing the victim. Duggan was reportedly working at the company as a summer job. Witnesses told police that Duggan was on the forklift when it flipped over while backing up the ramp. The equipment overturned and crushed Duggan’s chest area, causing him to suffer severe internal injuries. Pembroke EMTs arrived at the scene and took over from co-workers who tried in vain to administer CPR, police said. Duggan was taken to South Shore Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and the federal Occupation Safety Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating. OSHA is the government agency that oversees workplace safety. 

UPDATE Young boy was seriously injured in Kiltimagh work accident 
AN accident involving a youth on a forklift at a business premises near Kiltimagh last July led to a hearing at the local District Court last week. The case was taken following an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority into an accident at Genfitt (Mayo) Ltd., a company with a clear record for 30 years, and involved a 17-year-old employee who sustained serious internal injuries when he became trapped between the mast cross-bar and the cab frame of a fork lift truck while lubricating its chains. The charges to which the company pleaded guilty at the outset involved the obligation on an employer to bring the terms of a ‘safety statement’ to the attention of employees and the duty to ensure that self-propelled work-equipment is driven only by employees who have been appropriately trained in the safe driving of such equipment. Ms. Bernadette Gannon, a Health and Safety Authority Inspector, outlined the background to the incident which occurred on July 20th last. She said the young man, Thomas Elliott, worked with the company at weekends and during the school holidays. The accident happened when his foot slipped on a lever as he went to grease a chain and he became trapped, suffering a laceration to the liver in the accident. He was taken to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar and was later transferred to St. Vincent’s in Dublin. He was off work for two months but had since returned to Genfitt. c She outlined the need for a ‘safety statement’ to be displayed in all work places and the need for all who operate forklifts to be trained in their use. In response to Mr. Brendan Donnelly, defending solicitor, Ms. Gannon agreed there had been no previous convictions against the company and that they had a clear record. Mr. Donnelly said his client, Larry McEllin, had been in business for up to 30 years. He had never been before a court in his life. This was the first accident in the history of his company. Ms. Gannon outlined some of the duties undertaken by Thomas Elliott, including counter-sales and stocking the stores which involved taking pallets in by a forklift. He normally worked with Paddy Morley. She said there was no record of formal training in relation to the forklift. She agreed the Genfitt company had a good track record and said that the company had co-operated fully with the enquiry and were helpful. She also said that 17 members of the staff had since undertaken training and safety matters had been upgraded accordingly. Two staff members were now trained in first-aid. Thomas Elliott told the court he was operating a forklift when he heard a chain screech. He climbed up and started to grease it but his foot slipped on the tilt lever and the frame came back on top of him. He added that he had now made a good recovery. Larry McEllin said it was the first time in 30 years of business he was in court. He said that since the accident he had sought out the services of a company called Atlantic Health and Safety, who were recommended to him by the ESB, and several staff members had undergone various training programmes in relation to safety. “Safety is paramount in my workplace. He (Elliott) is a brilliant young fella. I spent a week at the hospital with his parents,” said Mr. McEllin, who said he had given talks on safety in relation to P.T.O. shafts around the country over the years. “I thought an ordinary driving licence covered someone to drive a forklift,” he added. Judge Mary Devins imposed fines totalling almost 23,000, (as well as costs of 2950 and 2200 witness expenses) and she highlighted the need to take all possible precautions to eliminate or minimize the risks associated with forklift trucks. She said it was an unfortunate accident in which the young boy had suffered life-threatening injuries. The prosecution was represented by Mr. John Jordan, B.L. and State Solicitor Mr. Séamus Hughes. In a statement issued after the Court, Ms. Bernadette Gannon stressed the need for all employers to become aware of the need for safety training. “Employers must ensure that all employees involved in driving or operating fork lifts have adequate levels of appropriate training. Workers who have not been trained in the safety requirements of such vehicles, simply should not use them,” she said. 

Accident puts window washers in hospital; Flat tire on forklift hoisting platform causes 2 men to topple 28 feet
From Staff Reports The State
A window washer was in poor condition and another was fair Wednesday after the machine hoisting them at a Fort Jackson Boulevard building blew a tire and crashed to the ground. Both men, whose names were unavailable, were taken to Palmetto Health Richland. One went straight to surgery, said Columbia Police Capt. Steve Conley. The men, ages 47 and 18, fell about 28 feet, said Jim Knight, spokesman for the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. State Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating what happened. The men’s employer, Innovative Building Products, of Charleston, could not be reached Wednesday. The company has not been cited for workplace violations, Knight said. The men, who were working in a basket attached to a platform, were power-washing windows about 8:30 a.m. at the building, officials said. No one connected to the investigation knew who owned the building or its use Wednesday. The forklift that held up the platform got a flat tire, Knight said, which caused the forklift to topple over. The tires were larger than those on a tractor-trailer rig. A third man, the forklift driver, was not badly hurt. He also was not identified. Knight didn’t know the extent or type of injuries to the men who had been working in the basket. Everyone involved spoke Spanish, which slowed the gathering of information, Knight said. OSHA investigators relied on a Spanish-speaking Columbia police officer to get information. It could be at least five weeks before the investigation is done, Knight said.

Worker killed at 29/Trancas work site; Martinez man struck by a piece of construction equipment
Friday, July 4, 2003 By MARSHA DORGAN Register Staff Writer
A construction worker was struck and killed by a piece of heavy equipment at the Highway 29/Trancas Street interchange project on Thursday afternoon. John Castro, 45, of Martinez, died around 2 p.m. at Queen of the Valley Hospital. Castro was part of a crew working in the northeast corner of the construction site. He was struck in the lower back by a bucket attached to backhoe, according to Acting Fire Capt. Phil Stith. “When we got there, the victim was lying on the surface of the dirt up against a berm, away from the bucket,” Stith said. Co-workers said the bucket hit Castro in the lower back and pushed him into the dirt, Stith said. “He was breathing at the scene and was talking a little bit in the ambulance on the way to the hospital,” Stith said. “He was taken to surgery and expired at the hospital.” The site was cordoned off with yellow plastic tape. By 3:30 p.m., most of the workers had left the site, replaced by detectives who were looking for clues. The monster backhoe that dealt the fatal blow sat idle, its bucket resting on a pile of dirt. At this time Castro’s death is being handled as an industrial accident. The investigation has been turned over to California Occupational and Health Safety Administration. This is second industrial fatal in the county within a month. Nelson Rivera, 39, of Angwin was killed June 16 when he was crushed to death in a trash compactor at the Pacific Union College landfill on Highland Springs Road, north of the college. Rivera worked for PUC since 1996. Investigators believe he slipped and fell into a four-foot pit where he was raking trash. He was killed instantly when the compactor engaged, crushing him. Cal-OSHA is still investigating the accident. The $55 million Highway 29/Trancas Street interchange project has been under construction since the spring of 2002 and is scheduled to be completed next year. The freeway will be submerged beneath Trancas Street/Redwood Road. The Napa Valley Wine Train tracks will remain at grade. 

Bulldozer traps, kills landfill worker
By Michael Wright The Facts Published July 03, 2003 
Republic Waste officials don’t know why a veteran bulldozer operator got off his vehicle Tuesday morning, leading to an accident that killed him. Secundino Martinez, 39, of Dickinson, was trapped between his bulldozer and a mountain of trash being pushed by another machine at the Seabreeze Environmental Landfill on FM 523. He was pronounced dead at the scene. “He got pinned between the dozer and the trash and the weight of the trash crushed him,” said Bill Linthicum, area president of Republic Waste. Chris Anderson, an investigator with the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department, said the death was an accident. “For some unknown reason, the victim got off his dozer and the other operator didn’t know it,” Anderson said. Both Anderson and Linthicum declined to identify the other driver. Linthicum said the man is trying to cope with his role in Martinez’s death. “He’s doing as well as expected,” Linthicum said. “He’s not at work at this time.” Both men had years of experience moving trash, which is different from moving dirt, Linthicum said. “It’s like walking on a million sponges,” Linthicum said. “It’s hard to stand up and maneuver and get around. It’s not a normal practice to get off and walk on that trash out there. It’s not a stable surface.” Martinez’s death devastated employees, Linthicum said. “The employees are almost like family members down there,” he said. Martinez, who had worked for Republic Waste for two years, leaves a wife and six children behind, Linthicum said. It’s the first time an employee was injured in an accident since Republic Waste took over the facility in 1998, Linthicum said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also is investigating the accident. 

Worker injured at ISU site
By: Jason Kristufek, Staff Writer July 02, 2003 
A construction worker was injured on Tuesday at the site of a new community center on the Iowa State University campus. Authorities identified the injured worker as Michael McCool, 37, of Ogden. He was transported by ambulance to Mary Greeley Medical Center for treatment of injuries to his arm and wrist. A spokesman for the hospital had no information on McCool this morning. University officials said McCool is an employee of Miron Construction Co., based in Wisconsin. The company does have a branch office in Des Moines. McCool was part of a construction crew working to complete the Union Drive Association Community Center. The building will have a cafeteria and commons area for use by students. It is located between State Gymnasium and Friley Hall on the west side of campus. ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said workers were unloading several cement columns with a forklift. Apparently, a strap that held one of the columns in place broke and pinned McCool’s arm, he said. “He had several hundred pounds on top of his arm,” Deisinger said. “The other employees used the forklift to raise the object off of him.” The Ames Fire Department and rescue units responded, as did officers from ISU Police. Authorities said the injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

Police and Fire Report
Wednesday, July 2, 2003 By MARSHA DORGAN Register Staff Writer
AmCan employee pinned by forklift in accident. An American Canyon employee suffered major injuries when he was pinned between a forklift and a flat-bed truck, according to American Canyon Police Chief Doug Koford. Richard Castorena, 39, of West Sacramento, was seriously hurt while he was loading lumber onto a flat-bed truck on Tuesday morning at Golden State Lumber at 150 Napa Junction Road, Koford said. “Two flat-beds trucks where being loaded when a second forklift came in to help load. One of the forklifts was backing up, when it pinned the victim between the forklift and the truck,” Koford said. Keith Caldwell, American Canyon fire chief, said fire units called for an air ambulance while driving to the scene based on the medical aid call that came into police dispatch. Caldwell said Castorena was conscious when fire crews arrived at the business. Castorena was airlifted by helicopter to Queen of the Valley Hospital. Since the injury is being treated as an industrial accident, officials from California Occupational and Health Safety Administration were called to the scene. An employee from Golden State Lumber who declined to identify himself to the Register on the telephone, said he had no comment about the accident. 

Construction accident leads to death 
6/30/2003 
A 59-year-old man who worked for a Fairburn construction company was crushed and killed June 23 by a back-hoe on Autry Mill Road. The incident occurred at the Atlanta-Fulton County Water Treatment Plant, near the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve, at about 8:30 a.m. Leonard Albert McCright of Monroe was killed when the bucket of a back-hoe driven by his brother, John E. McCright, 60, was lowered, crushing him. he victim had been standing on a ladder about 15 feet off the ground that was leaning against the top of a temporary steel plate, which covered a pipe. He was waiting for the back-hoe to lower a chain so he could attach it to the plate so workers could pull it off the ground. The victim was on one side of a 16-foot concrete wall and the back-hoe was on the other. McCright reportedly yelled for his brother to lower the arm of the back-hoe over the wall. No one saw what happened after that, police said. It appears when the bucket came down it pinned the victim between the top of the plate and the bucket. The two brothers worked for Reynolds Inc. construction company. 

Dump truck backs over road worker 
CAMDENTON, Mo. (AP) — A 58-year-old road worker was killed Thursday morning when a dump truck backed over him, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. Harold Morrison, of Macks Creek, was working on a construction project along Missouri 5 near Camdenton around 8:28 a.m. when the dump truck backed up to dump asphalt and ran over Morrison, the patrol said. Morrison didn’t notice the truck was backing toward him, the patrol said. Morrison was pronounced dead at the scene.

Forklift driver found dead
26jun03
A FORKLIFT driver working on his own was found crushed to death by his machine today at a fertiliser depot in Swan Hill, in northern Victoria. Police said one of the dead man’s workmates found him at about 3.50pm (AEST) yesterday. Paramedics were called but they were unable to revive him. The 52-year-old man was working the forklift at a fertiliser works at Karinie Street, Swan Hill, when the accident occurred. WorkSafe investigators and police were preparing a report for the coroner. No further details were available at this stage.

St. Paul man dies in front-end loader accident
By Robert Pore Publication Date: 06/25/03
ST. PAUL — A 71-year-old St. Paul man died on Tuesday as a result of an accident involving a front-end loader, St. Paul Police Chief Steve Studnicka said. The St. Paul man killed in the accident was Tom Pflepsen. He was pronounced dead at the Howard County Community Hospital at 11:29 a.m. Studnicka said the accident was called in to the Police Department at 10:34 a.m. by a city utility worker who was driving by the building where the accident took place. He said the accident took place at a shop/storage building at Sixth and Grand streets in St. Paul. Pflepsen was alone in the building, Studnicka said, when the front of the loader fell on him. The loader belonged to Pflepsen, who was getting it out of the storage facility to help pick up some tree limbs in the community when the accident happened. While Studnicka said authorities are not certain about how the accident happened, he said Pflepsen had the front-end loader propped up with some wood, and for some reason it gave way while he was under it. Pflepsen was retired. He was the former owner of the Gambles Store in St. Paul and also worked as a bank courier, Studnicka said. He said the incident was an accident, and foul play is not suspected. 

UPDATE $1M settlement reached in forklift injury lawsuit 
Advertiser Staff
A 38-year-old man whose leg was crushed by a forklift at a Campbell Industrial Park auto wrecking yard in October 2001 has settled a lawsuit against yard owner Michael Cunningham for $1 million. Attorney Jan Weinberg, who represented Dan Easterday, said his client has received a check from the company that insured Leeward Auto Recycling at the time of the accident. Weinberg said Easterday had a “verbal agreement” with Cunningham to use a portion of the wrecking yard to repair “muscle cars” for resale. Easterday was injured after he stepped off a 1984 forklift to help another man and the forklift reversed into him, nearly severing the leg, Weinberg said. Cunningham and his attorney could not be reached to comment.

Man hit by forklift dies
20jun03
A MAN has died after being hit by a 12-tonne forklift at an industrial site near Gympie, north of Brisbane. The 47-year-old man was working at the Laminex Industries factory at Toolara when the accident happened about 10pm (AEST) yesterday. He died at the scene from head and chest injuries. The forklift driver suffered shock and was taken to Gympie Hospital for observation. Police are expected to visit the factory today to investigate the incident.

Steel and Tube worker hurt in accident 
17 June 2003 By JOHN HENZELL
A Christchurch workman has suffered a crushed leg in an accident at Steel and Tube. The man was taken to hospital by ambulance after the accident at the Blenheim Road distribution centre about 5.30pm yesterday. No further details were available. The accident is being investigated by Occupational Safety and Health. Last month, Christchurch Coroner Richard McElrea heard that Steel and Tube had made big improvements in its safety practices since the death of contract truck driver Rory Herrick at the Blenheim Road site in October 1999. Mr Herrick, 27, was getting something from his toolbox while securing a load of steel rods on to his semi-trailer when a forklift nudged a wooden pallet the rods were on, sending them crashing from the deck of the truck. He died instantly. At the time, Steel and Tube had recently introduced a health and safety policy that made it mandatory for forklift drivers to attend safety courses. The forklift driver had not yet attended the course. A prosecution of Steel and Tube ended with te company being discharged without conviction. Judge Graeme Noble found that “the nature of the offending had nothing whatsoever to do with the unfortunate fatality”. The inquest was told that in June last year, Steel and Tube reached its goal of no lost-time accidents in the previous 12 months compared with 86 such accidents in 1996.

Truck driver dies in dump accident
June 12, 2003, 6:59 PM EDT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A payloader pinned a 41-year-old truck driver against the back of his rig Thursday, crushing him to death at a city recycling plant. Michael White, of Pennelville, had just delivered pulp about 7:30 a.m. and was attempting to close the back of his truck when the accident occurred. The driver of the payloader pulled out of a barn to scoop up the load and backed into the truck, pinning White between the vehicles, said Syracuse police Sgt. Tom Connellan. “He never saw him,” Connellan said. White was pronounced dead at University Hospital less than a half hour later, Connellan said. Officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called to investigate, but no charges were filed, he said. 

UPDATE Firm fined for man crushed at work 
By Richard Stirling 
12 June 2003 – Coatings firm Plascoat Systems has been ordered to pay £9,000 (E12,750) after a worker was crushed by a reversing lorry at its site in Dudley, UK. Operator Michael Wakeman suffered broken vertebrae and ribs when he was crushed by a reversing lorry on 14 May last year. A spokeswoman for the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) said the company was fined £6,500 (E9,200) and ordered to pay £2,500 (E3,500) in costs for failing to meet health and safety regulations. Dudley magistrates took into account that the company had been given advice previously by the HSE and that the accident could have been fatal. The fines were reduced because the company had submitted an early guilty plea and implemented a health and safety training programme since the incident. The HSE spokeswoman said Wakeman, had since returned to “light duties” at work. 

UPDATE Worker dies in forklift mishap; Schmitt remembered as hard-working family man 
June 12, 2003 By ANGELA GREEN of the Journal Star
EAST PEORIA -A 62-year-old Edwards man died Wednesday afternoon when a forklift he was operating at Caterpillar Inc.’s East Peoria plant overturned, pinning him beneath the machine. The accident occurred about noon, as Robert Schmitt, a supervisor for River City Construction Co., moved steel racks with the machine. Schmitt, 9427 W. Kickapoo One, worked for the construction company for nearly 19 years and was known as an outgoing, tireless laborer, said coworker and friend Kevin Carter, River City’s business development coordinator. “He was the guy who was always doing more,” Carter said. “He did so much, and will be very missed.” Witnesses said Schmitt was driving the forklift slowly, pivoting around the large pieces of steel that scattered the factory floor when either his vehicle or his load appeared to catch on one of the pieces, according to a police report. Phillip Long of Havana, who worked alongside Schmitt for 18 years, told East Peoria police he heard Schmitt yell, “Watch out!” as the forklift tipped, then flipped over on its left side, crushing his friend underneath. Long was on a nearby forklift and drove over to Schmitt as another worker cleared the way of scrap metal. He used his forklift to hoist the fallen machine off his friend, who was by then unresponsive. Schmitt’s son, Jeffery, who was also working nearby, pulled his father from underneath the machine as a coworker called police. Robert Schmitt was pronounced dead at the scene. Coworkers remember Schmitt as a hardworking, honest man who put in his best effort at work every day. But Schmitt’s work didn’t end when he clocked out. He spent several hours a week helping out at his church and with other local causes. “He was an icon here in Kickapoo,” longtime friend Bob Carman said Wednesday night. “If it wasn’t for Bob, we wouldn’t have our new school . . . He was awful good for Kickapoo.” Both men attended grade school and church at St. Mary’s in Kickapoo. That’s where Schmitt met Carman’s cousin, Carol, who later became his wife. The pair’s five children also called the halls of St. Mary’s home, as did several of their 15 grandchildren. Carman remembered his friend as being a proud, loving grandparent who would get gumballs for his grandchildren each week after their big Sunday breakfast. When their church congregation decided a few years ago to expand the current school and add a gymnasium, Schmitt was the one of the driving forces that got the $2 million-plus project done. In 2001, the first class of students passed through the new and improved halls on the way to the new gym – the Robert C. Schmitt gymnasium. But the work wasn’t done. At the time of his death, Schmitt had half a dozen building and maintenance projects going on around the school. “He was a workaholic,” Carman said. “He’d come home after work, then go up to the church or school, sometimes until midnight.” Schmitt worked hard and did it without thought of recognition, said Father Patrick Riordan of St. Mary’s. “There were so many projects going on and Bob was in the center of it,” Riordan said. “(Imagining walking down the halls), you feel very empty. “He wasn’t looking for applause. He just wanted to be there for his parish. He loved his family and was dedicated, not only to his family but to his church family.” An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Forklift rollover kills Homer man
A Homer man is dead after the forklift he was driving slid off a soft road shoulder and crushed him yesterday. Homer police say 43-year-old Scott Cunningham died in the accident. Cunningham was owner of Smokey Bay Air, a Homer air taxi business. Police say Cunningham was backing the forklift along Kachemak Bay Drive to his business when the accident occurred. A witness told police that Cunningham had some difficulty keeping the vehicle moving straight and it veered off the asphalt and down the steep, soft shoulder. Police say Cunningham reportedly attempted to jump free but fell into the ditch and the forklift rolled on top of him. Members of the Homer Volunteer Fire Department used inflatable bladders and a truck-mounted winch to free Cunningham but he could not be revived. Cunningham was an active fire and rescue volunteer in the Homer area. 

Fatal Accident at Cat Plant
Posted June 11, 2003 4:43pm
A longtime River City Construction employee died Wednesday after an accident at a Caterpillar sub-assembly plant in East Peoria. Sixty-two-year-old Bob Schmitt of Edwards was moving steel racks inside Cat building NN when a forklift overturned and pinned him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Schmitt was a supervisor for River City Construction LLC. Caterpillar, River City Construction, and the coroner’s office are investigating the accident. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning. 

Man killed in forklift accident
Published June 4, 2003 By DOUG HIGGS H&N Staff Writer
Matthew Burrows, 32, Klamath Falls, died Tuesday afternoon from injuries suffered in an industrial accident involving the forklift he was operating in the 2900 block of Maywood Drive, the Klamath Falls City Police reported. Burrows leaned out of the front of a “Bobcat” type tractor to retrieve an item off the ground, but a tool belt he was wearing got caught on a lever, activating it, police said. This caused the front forks of the vehicle to lower, pinning Burrows between the forks and the body of the forklift, police said. After being extricated by personnel from Klamath County Fire District No. 1 and the city police, he was taken to Merle West Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Burrows was the son of the owner of Stephen Burrows Construction of Klamath Falls. He was born and raised in Klamath Falls, and graduated from Mazama High School. Ward’s Klamath Funeral Home is in charge of funeral arrangements.

Worker dies in Hanscom base accident 
By Stephen Hagan / CNC Staff Writer Saturday, June 7, 2003
BEDFORD — In what local officials from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office claim was an accident, a construction worker was killed Thursday night at Hanscom Air Field during a re-paving project in the parking lot of the airport’s Civil Air Terminal. Killed was Gardner’s Robert Bourgeois, 43, a worker for the P.J. Keating Co. of Fitchburg. He apparently died when he was crushed by an asphalt grinder, according to Lincoln firefighter Joe Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh said fire officials responded to the emergency call at 9:11 p.m. Thursday. State Police, Lincoln firefighters, Hanscom Air Force Base fire officials and Massport officials responded to the site of the accident, which was located in the town of Lincoln. He said a crew of three was operating the machinery at the time of the accident. They were grinding up the old pavement, said Cavanaugh.. He was found partially under the machinery and he had crushing injuries to his lower extremities and pelvis. He was unconscious when we arrived. Seth Horwitz, press secretary for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, said Friday that his office determined the death to be accidental. It was apparently an accident, Horwitz said. There will be no further investigation by our office. Cavanaugh said Bourgeios was being administered CPR and in full cardiac arrest when Lincoln firefighters arrived and was taken by ambulance by paramedics to Emerson Hospital. The emergency helicopter, Boston Med-Flight, had been initially alerted, but according to Cavanaugh, fire officials generally do not use emergency helicopters when victims are suffering a heart attack. Med-Flight operations are based at Hanscom. Cavanaugh said the incident is being investigated by State Police, Massport, and by officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He was partially underneath the machine and was being extricated by Hanscom firefighters, said Cavanaugh. Massport spokesman Jose Juves said OSHA officials will investigate the incident and then present their findings to P.J. Keating and state officials. Juves would not speculate on the cause of the accident. It’s too early to tell, he said. The investigation is ongoing. It was a milling machine which grinds old asphalt so a new layer can be applied. Juves said the parking lot project had been underway for the past three weeks and added that because of the accident, work on the project has been halted. 

Man hurt in Nevada mining accident
A heavy equipment operator working at the Cortez Gold mine site in Lander County was critically injured when the 150-ton truck he was driving overturned down an embankment. The accident occurred Sunday at the mine 75 miles southwest of Elko in Lander County. Cortez Mine officials say the contract employee was hauling leach-grade material for processing when his Caterpillar truck went through a berm and crashed 20-feet below. The unidentified worker was flown to a hospital in Salt Lake city, where he is listed in critical condition. The cause of the accident is under investigation. 

Pompa Bros. owner dies in equipment accident
JIM KINNEY, The Saratogian June 04, 2003 
MIDDLE GROVE – Nelson Pompa, owner of Pompa Bros. Inc., was killed Tuesday evening while using earth-moving equipment at his company’s sand pit on Coy Road, north of Middle Grove. Pompa, 74, lived on Rowland Street in Ballston Spa. Saratoga County Undersheriff Michael Woodcock said Pompa was working on an access road above one of the pits to the back of the property shortly before 5 p.m. The equipment, described as a grade-all, tumbled down a 15-foot embankment onto large rocks. It came to rest upside down, with Pompa trapped in the partially-crushed cab. Woodcock said another worker discovered the accident and called 911 at about 5 p.m. “It is unknown how long Mr. Pompa was there before he was discovered,” Woodcock said. Firefighters from the Middle Grove, Porter Corners and Greenfield Center fire companies responded. They used a bulldozer and a front-end loader to shift the grade-all’s weight enough to give them access to the cab. Then, they used hydraulic cutters to open the cab and remove Pompa. Woodcock said this extrication took 30 to 40 minutes. Albany Medical Center had sent its MedFlight helicopter on the 16-minute trip to MiddleGrove from Albany. The helicopter set down on Coy Road at the entrance to the pit, about 11/2 miles from the accident scene. The medical crew went into the pit to help, but returned at about 7:15, loaded an empty stretcher back into the helicopter and flew off. Woodcock said Saratoga County Coroner Thomas Salvadore pronounced Pompa dead at the scene. His remains were removed to Saratoga Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Woodcock said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration would investigate the accident. Pompa and three brothers started Pompa Bros. in 1947 as a heavy construction firm. Its last big construction job was building Ballard Road in Wilton in the early 1970s. Pompa moved the company into mining for sand and stone, first on Route 29 in just west of Saratoga Springs. Company headquarters are still at Route 29 and Petrified Sea Gardens Road. Pompa’s son, Ed Pompa, runs the company asphalt plant. His daughter, Mary, works in the firm’s office. The company owns 1,800 acres off Coy Road, about 11/2 miles north of the hamlet of Middle Grove. Pompa has asked the town to rezone the area and allow more quarrying, a move hotly opposed by many neighbors. The issue is still before the town.

UPDATE Inquest set in gravel pit death
KELLY PEDRO, Free Press Reporter 2003-06-04 03:22:40 
A coroner’s inquest will examine an accident that killed a 26-year-old Goderich man, Southwestern Ontario’s regional supervising coroner confirmed yesterday. Under the Coroner’s Act, an inquest is mandatory when a worker dies as a result of an accident in a mine, pit or quarry, said Dr. Bonita Porter. Shawn Cooper died in a London hospital after being crushed between a truck and a front-end loader at a Huron County gravel pit in May 2001. He was working at C. E. Reid and Sons when a dump truck got stuck in sand. Cooper tried to free the truck by hooking chains to a front-end loader, but it malfunctioned, moving forward and crushing him against the truck. Yesterday, Porter said an inquest, slated for July, would probe the events leading up to the incident. “The timing of it may depend on whether there are any charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” Porter said, referring to the lapse in time between the incident and the inquest. The coroner, she said, may know early in the investigation if an inquest will be held, but cannot call one because it would risk tainting a trial if charges are laid. In November 2002, C. E. Reid and Sons pleaded guilty for failing to ensure proper workplace procedures were followed, said Belinda Sutton, spokesperson for the Labour Ministry. The company was fined $80,000. It has appealed the fine. The inquest is expected to last two days and hear from five witnesses. 

Propane gas leak forces evacuation of housing facility 
Staff report, Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WATERVILLE — Emergency crews evacuated an elderly housing facility on Elm Street on Monday after an accident ruptured a valve on an underground propane tank next to it, causing a serious leak. Police cordoned off the area around the leaking tank and shut down a section of Elm Street in front of the building, Elm Towers, while fire crews moved in to control the escaping gas. Waterville police Sgt. Michael Benecke said tenants of Elm Towers were able to return to the building after about an hour, and no one was injured in the accident. The accident occurred shortly before noon when a Waterville Housing Authority worker backed a vehicle over the tank, according to Waterville Firefighter Jim Roy. “Basically it was an underground tank that was evidently used for their emergency generator,” Roy said. “One of their workers backed into it and busted the relief valve.” Propane from the tank began hissing out of the broken valve and emergency crews were notified. Anthony Bernard, 29, of Waterville was riding his bicycle on Elm Street at the time the leak was reported, and watched the first fire crews arrive. “You could see the gas, the fumes just coming out, and you could smell it,” Bernard said. “It was coming right out of the ground.” Firefighters quickly surrounded the leaking tank and began hosing it down with water. “By doing that we can control the vapors, plus if there was ever an ignition we’d be prepared,” Roy said. “It mostly vented out…the gas company was there, and they were going to attach a line to it and burn the rest of it off.” Michael K. Johnson, executive director of the Waterville Housing Authority, which operates Elm Towers, said the fire department ordered the evacuation of the building as a precaution. Johnson confirmed the underground tank was used to power the building’s emergency generator, but said it will not be used again. “It will be taken out of service and we’ll go to an aboveground tank,” Johnson said. There are 48 apartments in the Elm Towers building, Johnson said. Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection was notified about the accident, Roy said. Breezy conditions Monday helped disperse the propane, sources said. 

Forklift worker found dead 
Curtis Hines Taylor, 39, of Cameron was found dead after an apparent industrial accident in a Temple warehouse Wednesday morning, police said. Taylor, a forklift operator, was found on the ground with a head injury and was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy has been ordered, although authorities said foul play is not suspected.

UPDATE Widow of Two Rivers city worker files wrongful death suit
By Michelle Kubitz Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC — A wrongful death lawsuit was filed last week seeking damages for the family of a Two Rivers man killed last spring when he was struck by a garbage truck. Timothy Schramm, 41, died of massive head trauma May 17, 2002, after he was struck by a 1998 Crane truck driven by Timothy York. Schramm was marking water lines for the city of Two Rivers water and lights department at the time of the accident. His widow, Elizabeth Schramm, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday suing York, Manitowoc Disposal Inc., 1800 Johnston St.; and Acuity, an insurance company in Sheboygan. Schramm is seeking compensation for her loss and for funeral and medical expenses. Schramm alleges that the negligence of York and his employer, Manitowoc Disposal, were responsible for her husband’s death. According to court records, York’s driver’s license was revoked at the time of the accident. Although York passed a preliminary breath test and field sobriety tests, a blood test revealed he had traces of cocaine and marijuana in his body at the time of the accident. According to the accident investigation: •Timothy Schramm was marking a water line near the middle of Lowell Street, west of Mishicot Road, about 20 feet from the intersection. •Schramm was in a crouching position in the road and not wearing a reflective vest. In addition, no cones or other safety equipment marked that utility work was being done. •York had turned off Mishicot Road onto Lowell and did not see Schramm prior to striking him. Elizabeth Schramm’s lawsuit alleges York was using “excessive speed” when her husband was struck. In suing Manitowoc Disposal for negligent hire and negligent entrustment, Schramm’s lawsuit alleges that York had been convicted twice of operating while impaired. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that York allowed his liability insurance to lapse and that his driving privileges had been revoked at the time of the accident. Earlier this year, York pleaded no contest to a charge of operating while revoked that stemmed from the fatal accident. In March, the court ordered that the judgment of conviction be withheld. If York shows proof of a valid driver’s license by July 1, the charge will be amended to operating without a valid driver’s license. 

Student critically injured in lift accident
Andrew Tucker, 19, has sustained serious multiple crush injuries when he somehow came into contact with a lift’s mechanism in an accident at Reading University’s Sibly Hall residence in the Berks town. Emergency services required 30 minutes to free the student from the lift shaft. The accident is under joint HSE/ police investigation.

Construction worker hurt as backhoe overturns at Pronghorn Resort; Operator was wearing seat belt and was not seriously injured
From bend.com news sources 
May 27 – A 43-year-old Terrebonne man was flown to a Bend hospital, but avoided serious injuries when his backhoe rolled onto its side Tuesday during construction work at the Pronghorn Resort between Bend and Redmond, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said. Deputies, Redmond fire crews and Air Life of Oregon responded shortly before 11 a.m. to the reported injury accident. Michael Matheny, a worker with Hap Taylor & Sons Construction, had been back-filling around a pressure-reducing valve station when the edge of the dirt gave way and the backhoe rolled onto its side, hitting the cinder-block structure, said sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Swearingen. Matheny was wearing a seat belt at the time, and was able to crawl out of the John Deere backhoe and walk a few feet away before needing assistance, Swearingen said. When officials arrived, members of the construction crew were helping the victim. An Air Life helicopter landed a short time later. Flight medics assessed the patient and, with the aid of Redmond fire-parameics, the man was placed on the chopper for the flight to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. A nursing supervisor said he was treated for minor injuries and released. 

Bulldozer accident claims life 
By ANDREW PERALA/West Hawaii Today
A 37 – year – old Honaunau man died Friday afternoon when the bulldozer he’d been driving ran over him, police said. Jesse Young, an experienced heavy – equipment operator, had been clearing a sloping, three – acre lot in Makalei Estates off Mamalahoa Highway when he somehow fell beneath the 17,000 – pound machine. The 3:43 p.m. accident likely killed him instantly, a police spokesman said. Funeral arrangements are pending, as police investigate the sequence of events resulting in Young’s death. The home lot had a steep slope on the upper end that Young had bladed smooth earlier. Young may have been walking the land when the Caterpillar D4H bulldozer suddenly took off in reverse, “but we may never know,” a police spokesman said. Unmanned, the bulldozer continued running in reverse, police said. About 125 feet after running over Young, the bulldozer’s right – corner blade clipped the left post of an electrical box before crossing the subdivision’s main street and climbed up and over the road’s rain gutter. Then, tipping backward at an angle down a steep embankment, the bulldozer crashed through a six – foot tall chainlink fence surrounding a 15,000 – gallon water tank, police said. The bulldozer missed the tank by about 30 feet, according to measurements of the tracks. The fence, uncut though damaged beyond repair, leashed the runaway bulldozer, police said. Entangled in the bulldozer’s undercarriage, the more than 100 feet of fence and concrete – embedded posts swung the bulldozer uphill until it ground to a halt. The bulldozer had traveled more than 300 feet without its driver, police said. Police found Young’s ballcap about 50 feet and his cellphone 25 feet upslope from his body. A police spokesman confirmed Young had severe leg injuries, as well as massive trauma to the rest of his body. Young was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he ws pronouced dead. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of death, police said.