Mobile Equipment Accidents #3

This page was last updated on  05/06/2010

Dump truck falls into ravine; driver suffers injuries 
The Baltimore Sun
A Taneytown man was in serious but stable condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after the dump truck he was driving plunged into a ravine near Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Sajak Pavilion in Annapolis. The man, 41, suffered head, neck and back injuries when the truck he was driving during work on Medical Parkway suddenly went up a dirt construction road and down about 50 feet into the excavation site about 1 p.m., said Anne Arundel Fire Department Division Chief John M. Scholz. It took about a dozen rescue workers a half-hour to move the man, who works for Kibler Construction Co. of Finksburg, Scholz said. He was taken by helicopter to the hospital. The driver’s name was not released pending notification of his family. The cause of the accident, which occurred as the truck was being loaded with dirt, was unknown. Maryland Occupational Safety and Health was notified of the accident.

Dump Truck Hits, Kills Worker In Orlando
A dump truck has hit and killed a worker Tuesday at an Orlando construction site, according to Local 6 News. Orlando Police said that the apparent accident happened at the Target construction site located on Conroy Road just south of Millenia Blvd. Police are investigating. 

Flatbed truck kills eight electrical workers on roadside project 
TAIPEI, Taiwan – A flatbed truck loaded with window frames and doors lost control on a mountain road and slammed into two utility company repair trucks Tuesday, killing eight workers. The truck was unable to stop on the winding road before it crashed into the Taiwan Power Co. trucks, which crushed the workers repairing a roadside electrical pole in northern Taipei County, police said. TVBS cable news showed rescue workers digging through piles of doors and window frames to reach the workers trapped beneath the trucks. Only one of the nine workers survived. The wife of victim Chen Chi-chuang was still in shock. Her husband had gone to check on the workers in the middle of the night and died in the early morning accident. “When he didn’t call I thought it was strange, but then the call came,” she told TVBS. “The driver of the truck should’ve been the one who died,” she said.

Man killed in warehouse forklift mishap
By NICOLE GAUDIANO, Staff Writer
CARLSTADT – A man so new to the United States that he still had a Dominican $20 bill in his wallet was killed when a forklift crashed on top of him at an Empire Boulevard warehouse, police said Wednesday. Jamaica Garcia, 24, who had been living in West New York for about a week, was killed instantly in the Monday night accident, said Carlstadt Lt. Mike Barbire. A native of the Dominican Republic who had been working for a temporary employment agency, Garcia was forbidden to operate a forklift because he had not been trained, Barbire said. His job at the Transit Point warehouse was supposed to entail picking and packing merchandise. Two company employees were supervising Garcia, Barbire said. But during a break period, while the supervisors weren’t there, Garcia climbed aboard a forklift and started driving, other temporary workers told police. They said he rode the forklift off the loading dock bay and tried to jump from it as it was tilting. He landed on the ground and the forklift toppled on him, a truck driver who witnessed the accident told police. Moonachie and Carlstadt rescue squads used air bags to right the forklift. Police ruled the death an accident. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials will be investigating, Barbire said. Garcia worked for EZ Labor Service of West New York.

2 tree service workers killed 
Police say Waterville, Cornville men struck by pickup in 
By DAN McGILLVRAY, Staff Writer, Blethen Maine Newspapers 
WINDSOR — Two employees of a tree-trimming company were killed Wednesday morning when a teenage driver, apparently blinded by the early-morning sun, hit the men as they were setting up roadside safety equipment. The workers for Lucas Tree Expert Co., identified as Albert Eddie Flood, 57, of Waterville and James Moshier, 38, of Cornville, had just left the company truck on Tyler Road and were placing cones along the roadside when the accident occurred. A Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck driven by Sean Dixon, 17, of Whitefield struck the men about 6:30 a.m. as they were next to the Lucas truck and an attached trailer that held two all-terrain vehicles, Trooper Mark Nickerson of the state police said. “(Dixon) was going east, in the same direction as the truck. He was blinded by the sun,” Nickerson said. Dixon, who was on his way to work, was wearing a safety belt and was not injured, Nickerson said. The accident occurred on a relatively flat stretch of dry road near the China town line. Homes are scattered along the road, which is flanked by tall grass, bushes and trees. Lucas, with headquarters in Portland, specializes in de-limbing branches and felling trees along edges of roads and under electrical transmission lines owned by Central Maine Power Co. A Lucas crew of six employees was to begin its day’s work under a cleared CMP line that cuts through the woods off Tyler Road when the accident occurred, said Nickerson. None of the four other employees were injured, he said. Flood had worked for the company for 30 years, and Moshier had been with the firm for eight or nine years. They were based at Lucas’ division in Norridgewock, where about 25 other employees work. All employees at that location will be offered counseling today, said Richard Haskell, the company’s vice president and treasurer. “Both of these men (Flood and Moshier) were hard-working, longtime employees who were active with the company,” he said. Haskell said Wednesday that he’s awaiting a review of the fatal accident by the firm’s director of safety. Nickerson said no skid marks were visible on Tyler Road from Dixon’s pickup truck. After hitting the men, the vehicle continued heading east before spinning around to face the opposite direction while coming to a stop in the road’s opposite shoulder with a blown right front tire, he said. No other vehicles were traveling in either direction at the time. Sunrise on Wednesday was at 5:25 a.m., approximately one hour before the mishap occurred. “The road drives into the sun at this time of year,” said Nickerson. The investigation into the accident continues, and state police will try to determine the estimated speed of Dixon’s truck before impact. The speed limit there is 45 mph. At least one investigator with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was on the scene Wednesday. Nickerson said the revolving yellow light atop the Lucas truck was turned on. Sue Dumas, who lives near the accident scene, said the road is relatively accident-free. Millie Gleason, who also lives nearby, said she heard the accident while she was letting her dog outside. Haskell, the Lucas vice president, said the 76-year-old company has had an excellent safety record. “There has never been a traffic accident or any lives lost by the company,” he said. Most workers are longtime employees who are trained thoroughly in safety measures, including placing traffic cones and warning signs at and near job sites, said Haskell. Lucas’ outdoor workers are a close group of employees —many with more than 10 and 20 years of service — who will not easily cope with the deaths of Flood and Moshier, he said. If anyone requires counseling after today, the company will make a professional counselor available, Haskell said. Roadside de-limbing crews typically consist of two workers, while six workers are required for transmission line jobs such as the one in Windsor, he said. The ATVs the workers use carry equipment that includes saws and spraying apparatus, said Haskell.

Rail worker killed beside tracks
A RAILWAY worker has died in north-west Queensland after he was crushed by a bobcat which rolled on to him. The accident occurred beside a section of railway line about 75km south-west of Cloncurry, near Mount Isa, yesterday morning. Police say the man was steering the bobcat when it became caught in tree branches. He turned off the motor and tried to free it from the branches, but it rolled over and crushed him. Police and Queensland Rail Workplace Health and Safety officers are investigating the accident.

Forklift accident kills man
By Lauren Keene/Enterprise staff writer
Employees of California Cascade, a Woodland lumber treatment facility, are mourning the loss of an employee who was accidentally struck and killed by a forklift Monday afternoon. Compounding the tragedy was the fact that the forklift’s driver was the victim’s nephew, according to Yolo County coroner’s officials. The victim, 58-year-old Jimmy Carinio of Woodland, was struck by the forklift at about 1:20 p.m. Monday as he walked in a lumber storage area in the south area of the business at 1492 Churchill Downs Ave., according to Woodland police investigators. “It looks as though he was walking between a parked semi trailer and a parked semi,” Woodland police Corporal Derrek Kaff said today. “He walked out from between the two and was hit by the forklift.” The nephew, who was using the forklift to transfer lumber from one area of the plant to another, was not hurt. “He’s devastated,” Yolo County Supervising Deputy Coroner Mary Koompin-Williams said of the 33-year-old man, whose name was not released. “It’s a really close-knit family, and there are several of them that have worked at the plant for a number of years.” California Cascade’s general manager was unavailable for comment about the accident this morning. Carinio reportedly had worked there about three years. Both the coroner’s office and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the incident. Neither foul play nor drug or alcohol use were believed to be factors. This was the second industrial accident to occur at a Churchill Downs Avenue business in the past year. In November, a 22-year-old San Jose man died at Georgia Pacific Corp., a warehouse and distribution center, from injuries he suffered while helping a fellow truck driver back a trailer up to a loading dock.

UPDATE, Park Paving charged in worker’s death; Safety act breached, rules Alberta Justice
Journal Staff, Edmonton Journal 
Alberta Justice has laid charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act against Park Paving Ltd. in connection with the death of one of its workers. Nick Oelker, 26, of Edmonton, was run over by a concrete spreader in Sherwood Park’s Ridge subdivision on June 13, 2001. He died of his injuries in hospital. After several months of talking to witnesses, examining the machinery involved and reviewing the company’s safety policies and procedures, Occupational Health and Safety investigators found Park Paving Ltd. had allegedly breached the act leading up to Oelker’s death, a spokesman for Alberta Human Resources and Employment said Monday. A Park Paving Ltd. representative is scheduled to appear July 31 in Sherwood Park provincial court. The maximum penalty if found guilty for a first offence is a fine of $150,000 and/or six months in jail on each charge.

NYPD captain pleads guilty
NEW YORK (Reuters) — A New York police captain resigned his job and pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter in the October 1999 death of a construction worker on the Throgs Neck Bridge, the Queens County district attorney announced Monday. James O’Connor, 47, was intoxicated when he drove into a closed construction lane on the bridge after midnight that Oct. 20 and struck and killed Afif Hazim, 52, who was removing asphalt from the roadway for resurfacing, according to Queens district attorney Richard Brown. “The defendant, a career police commander with a promising future, has admitted his guilt to a terrible and tragic crime. He has resigned from the police department and will serve a state prison sentence,” Brown said in a statement. During the plea proceedings, the prosecution recommended a sentence of three to nine years in prison be imposed. Tests revealed that O’Connor, who was driving a police vehicle, had a blood alcohol level of .12, above the legal limit of .10 for operating a vehicle.

Three firefighters killed after vehicle plunges into ravine; thousands evacuated in Oregon 
By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer 
HAPPY CAMP, California – A flag over the fire camp was lowered to half-staff and U.S. Forest Service members wore black bands in tribute to three firefighters killed when their truck plunged down a mountainside. In the latest tragic turn of a fire season that has become one of the deadliest in recent memory, three people were killed Sunday when the Forest Service fire truck drove off a narrow, smoke-shrouded road in the dark of night and plunged 800 feet (240 meters). Two firefighters were injured. Officials suspect the conditions around the 1,500-acre (600-hectare) fire in the Klamath National Forest some 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the Oregon state line played a major role. “The Forest Service is a family. When there is a tragedy, we all cry together,” said Dave Poucher, a regional Forest Service safety officer. “You may not know them, but all of a sudden you feel it in the back of the throat, like they are your brother or sister.” The deaths brought to 14 the number of firefighters killed this summer as wildfires rage across the drought-stricken West. The National Interagency Fire Center reported that 32 major fires that were active Monday had burned 559,000 acres (223,600 hectares). In southern Oregon, firefighters ordered the evacuation of 4,000 to 5,000 people in the Black Butte Ranch Resort after stiff wind fanned a blaze that had burned about 3,700 acres (1,480 hectares). The crew that went off the road near Happy Camp was helping to watch over a 500-acre (200-hectare) backfire set during the night, said Forest Service Incident Commander Howard Carlson. Their green crew-cab pickup — equipped with a 500-gallon (1,900-liters) water tank — was driving straight down the road at about 1:30 a.m., when two members of a fire crew saw one wheel go off the road. The truck rolled 800 feet (240 meters) down the steep slope and landed upside down. The fire they were fighting had forced the closure of a campground but threatened no homes. It was 20 percent contained, with full containment expected Sunday.

Driver dies under runaway lorry
HSE and the police are investigating an accident in west London’s Southampton Street in which a lorry driver died under his runaway vehicle as he attempted to stop it. It is reported he was unloading scaffolding from the vehicle when it unexpectedly moved downhill towards the Savoy Hotel in the Strand. Unfortunately, although he succeeded in warning pedestrians the vehicle continued on its way striking and injuring a woman. Tragically, the vehicle then jack-knifed and he fell underneath the wheels. The injured woman is not believed to have life threatening injuries.

Man arrested after woman’s forklift death
A HUNGARIAN student has been killed after an accident on a farm near Bassingbourn. Eszter Nagy, 20, died after being trapped beneath a forklift truck at Wireless Station Farm in Chestnut Lane. Ambulance crews were called and summoned police. The woman was pronounced dead on the scene. A 20-year-old man from the Ukraine has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. He has been released on police bail to reappear at Parkside police station on August 8. An inquest was opened and adjourned and will be re-opened once a report from the Health and Safety Executive is completed. Cambridgeshire coroner’s office said it was likely to be heard in November or December. Bosses at the farm’s head office in Steeple Morden refused to comment on the incident.

Santa Paula Man, 39, Fatally Hit by Forklift at Naval Base
Accident: He had been driving the equipment shortly before another employee took over. The Navy and OSHA have opened investigations.
By JESSICA BLANCHARD, TIMES STAFF WRITER
A 39-year-old longshoreman from Santa Paula died Tuesday morning after being struck by a forklift at Naval Base Ventura County. According to base officials, Richard Lopez Jr., a contract worker for Stevedoring Services of America, had been using a forklift to load and unload military cargo on Wharf 3 from the motor vessel Greenpoint. Shortly before the accident, he got off the forklift and someone else began driving it, base officials said. Lopez was struck by the forklift about 8:45 a.m. Base emergency response teams arrived shortly after the incident, but Lopez was declared dead at the scene. The Ventura County coroner’s office said Lopez died of multiple crushing injuries. Naval Criminal Investigative Services and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating. Base spokeswoman Sarah Burford said it was unclear how long Lopez had worked at the base. Such industrial accidents are uncommon, but not unheard of, in Ventura County. In April 2001, a 79-year-old farm labor contractor was killed after being run over by a forklift driven by another employee. And in December 2000, an Oxnard man was killed when a tractor he was riding flipped on a horse trail in Santa Rosa Valley. “It’s not real common, but we do see this on occasion, especially in ports and construction sites where there’s a lot of activity and a lot of noise,” said Dean Fryer, a spokesman for Cal / OSHA. “Sometimes a person operating a piece of equipment doesn’t see a person.” Burford said the naval base was providing grief counseling for Lopez’s family.

MAN’S FOOT CRUSHED BY DUST CART
Hull: An investigation was today launched after a council workman had his foot crushed by an 18-ton dust cart at a city tip. The 24-year-old was on duty at Wilmington Waste Disposal site, off Stoneferry Road, when a disposal lorry accidentally ran over his foot. It is believed the man, who has not been named, fell from the vehicle moments earlier. He was immediately rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary by ambulance, where he was being treated today for “severe” injuries to his foot. The accident is thought to be the most serious to have happened at the council-run waste disposal site. Details have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive. A Kingston upon Hull City Council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm a city council operative had an accident while performing his duties at Wilmington Waste Disposal site. “Severe injuries were caused to the man’s foot when it was caught under the wheel of a refuse disposal lorry. “An ambulance was called and the man is in hospital undergoing treatment. The incident is being investigated by the city council and health and safety officers.” Officials believe it was an isolated incident and the site poses no danger to the public. “We have an excellent safety record for staff and members of the public,” the spokesman added. “We are confident this was an unfortunate accident which will be fully investigated.” An ambulance spokeswoman confirmed they received a 999 call shortly after 11am on Tuesday after reports a man had fallen from a dust cart and trapped his leg.

Two seriously injured in workplace accidents
A teenager who started a new job as a refuse collector just four days ago, was last night in a critical condition in hospital after being crushed under the wheels of his truck. The 17-year-old from Siggiewi was standing on the platform at the rear of the rubbish lorry when he lost his balance. Police said he fell to the ground and tumbled into the path of the truck’s tyres as it turned a corner in Fgura. The accident happened shortly after midday during a rubbish collection round in Censu Busuttil Street. He was rushed to the casualty department at St Luke’s Hospital and was given life-saving treatment. Police said the teenager was then transferred to the Intensive Therapy Unit where he was under close observation by medical staff.  Meanwhile, in a separate incident, another Siggiewi man was seriously hurt after falling down a shaft in St Julian’s. The construction worker was carrying out maintenance work between the Hilton Hotel and the Portomaso Tower at 1.10pm yesterday. It is understood he lost his balance and fell from a height of around two storeys. He was rushed to St Luke’s Hospital by ambulance. Duty magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima appointed a number of court experts to assist in on-site inquiries.

20 Workers Become Sick At Irving Business 
Investigators say carbon monoxide is to blame for at least 22 people getting sick today at an Irving business. Nobody was seriously hurt. The incident happened at The Blind Maker, which is a window blind manufacturer in an industrial area of Irving. Battalion Chief Kyle Rohr says firefighters discovered high levels of carbon monoxide in the building and cordoned it off. Rohr later said the high levels of carbon monoxide were caused by a forklift. Forklifts can put off carbon monoxide and the propane-powered machine may not have been not tuned up or was putting out more carbon monoxide than normal. 
Company president Ray Hicks says The Blind Maker’s office will reopen tomorrow.

Boeing worker injures foot in forklift accident
by Chris Genna, Journal Reporter
RENTON — A Boeing engineer may have lost his right foot as a result of being struck by a forklift outside the 737/757 main assembly building yesterday morning. Enumclaw resident Matthew Weigel was in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center Wednesday evening, a nursing supervisor said, with injuries to his right leg. She could give no other details. Details about the accident, too, were sketchy. Boeing would say only the employee was struck about 8 a.m. outside Building 4-81, the western of two single-aisle jetliner assembly buildings. Boeing spokesman Tom Ryan said the company could release no other information — he didn’t name the injured employee — pending an internal investigation. Several Renton plant employees said they had been told not to give details for the same reason. But sources familiar with the details said Weigel, a manufacturing research and development engineer, was crossing a main thoroughfare outside the plant when he was struck. Plant employees said Weigel’s foot was severed but he was conscious and talking to emergency medical technicians before he was taken to Harborview.

Seven Injured When Fire Truck Hits Restaurant In Ohio
A fire truck responding to an alarm in Columbus, Ohio rolled over as it went around a corner and slammed into a restaurant, injuring at least seven people, authorities said.The ladder truck slid into Patrick J’s Bar and Grille about 5:30 p.m. yesterday as it responded to a fire at Ohio State University, fire department spokeswoman Kelly McGuire said.The cab of the 70-ton truck went through the north end of the bar, sending tables, chairs, cinder blocks and liquor bottles flying.”All this glass and concrete came flying at me,” said 52-year-old John Logue who was eating a salad when the truck hit the restaurant. “I had no idea what it was. Then I got knocked down. There was a lot of hysteria.”One restaurant patron, 42-year-old Dorothy Toki, was in serious condition today at Ohio State University Medical Center. Two firefighters and a restaurant patron were in fair condition at Riverside and Ohio State University Medical Center. Two firefighters and the restaurant bartender were treated and released from the hospitals.Battalion Chief Mark Devine said preliminary reports indicated the truck may have been cut off by another vehicle. “We’re hearing conflicting reports. … We don’t know exactly what happened,” Devine said.Larry Chaney was driving behind the fire truck when it rolled over. “The ladder (truck) was driving at excessive speed like it didn’t have any brakes,” Chaney said. “The next thing I know, it … tilted on its side.”

Worker killed by truck at construction site
Ashley Branch, Pensacola News Journal
A Pace man acting as a flagman at a Pensacola Beach hotel construction site died Tuesday morning after being run over by a tractor-trailer. According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, a little before 7 a.m., George David Crocker, 52, of Pace was directing the rig’s driver – Doyle Alan Sparr, 43, of Milton – who was hauling a construction crane. Crocker, a site supervisor with Greenhut Construction, was walking along with the tractor- trailer as it was backing up in the eastbound lanes of Via de Luna in front of the Hilton hotel site. He somehow got tangled up in the rear wheels. Crocker was taken by Baptist LifeFlight helicopter to Baptist Hospital, but he died from his injuries, troopers said. Sparr was wearing a seat belt and was not injured. Larry Northup, vice president of Greenhut Construction, said Crocker was the company’s highest-ranking employee on the site and had worked for the company about 10 years. Exactly how the accident occurred was unclear. “What I think baffled everyone is that he was on the right side of the crane,” Northup said. “He was beside it, and not behind it, but then turned and walked behind the crane for just a second. “We shut the job site down for the day, because we knew people wouldn’t have their heads or hearts in the job, and we didn’t want to have another accident.”

St. Cloud mail carrier dies after being hit by truck
Associated Press 
ST. CLOUD — A rural mail carrier was killed Tuesday after a semitrailer truck hit her car while she stopped to deliver mail. Sharon Annis Routon, 63, who worked for the Postal Service in St. Cloud, is the second rural mail carrier in two months to die while delivering mail in the region . Last month, a mail carrier from Paynesville was killed. Routon was heading west on Stearns County Rd. 47, just off Hwy. 15, when the accident happened, according to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office. The semi also was also heading west on the county road and hit Routon’s car from behind. The truck driver was not hurt. Postal workers recovered the mail from the accident, said Corwin Snyder, St. Cloud postmaster. Mail was not delivered Tuesday to the rest of that route and another route affected by Routon’s death, he said. “They are out there every day,” Snyder said. “This should not be the kind of job where people should feel like they are putting their lives at risk everyday.”

Pharr Yarns employee killed in workplace accident
GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — Dozens of friends and family members gathered Monday for an all-night wake in honor of a Pharr Yarns employee killed in a forklift accident. Juan Landero, of Veracruz, Mexico, was killed early Saturday morning while working at the plant in McAdenville. No one witnessed the incident, but Department of Labor officials say it appears Landero was crushed between the mast of the forklift and its frame. The extended wake service at Parkwood Baptist Church gave those who worked the third shift with Landero a final chance to pay their respects. “People would always go to him if they had a question or a doubt,” said his son-in-law, Roger Hernandez. “He was known by a lot of people.” Hispanics lost 22 lives while working in 2000, or about 9 percent of the state’s 234 workplace fatalities. The year before, 12 Hispanic workers were killed on the job, or about 5 percent of the state’s 222 workplace fatalities, according to state labor officials. The Department of Labor’s final report on the Pharr Yarns death should be completed in about six weeks, said Juan Santos, a spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Labor.

Dump truck crushes worker
BY HANNAH SAMPSON
A 19-year-old worker died Monday after he suffered severe injuries when a dump truck backed over him in Hollywood, police said. The man, whose name was not released Monday night, was pouring gasoline into the tank of a ventilation fan over a manhole on North Eighth Avenue near Tyler Street when 54-year-old Orlando Flores of Miami drove the dump truck in reverse and hit him, witnesses told police. The two were working on separate paving and sewer projects in the neighborhood off the Intracoastal Waterway. Rescue workers got the call about 2:50 p.m. They arrived minutes later to find the victim on his back next to the manhole with injuries to his torso and chest and a severe cut on his right leg near the groin, according to Hollywood Fire Rescue spokesman Matt Phillips. At first, the worker was conscious and talking. He complained to rescuers that the asphalt he was lying on was hot. Then he complained that he was having trouble breathing, Phillips said. Fire-rescue workers got the man to Memorial Regional Hospital by 3:05 p.m. He died there. ”They did everything they could,” Phillips said. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.” Flores is an independent subcontractor for a company that was under contract to repave streets as part of a city project. The victim was working for Wellington-based Chaz Equipment on a sanitary sewer rehabilitation project, according to Tom Vitale, a project superintendent with Chaz Equipment. Vitale said the victim was from Loxahatchee, Fla., and had worked for the company for 3 ½ months. His father is also an employee of the company, and was working Monday in Lake Worth, Vitale said. Vitale called the victim a “great, conscientious worker.” ”Always on time, does a good job. Gets along with everybody,” he said. At the scene Monday, Flores, shaken and upset, said in Spanish that he did not want to talk to reporters. No charges were filed, Hollywood police Lt. Tony Rode said. The investigation was continuing. Law enforcement officers with the Florida Department of Transportation were called to inspect the truck but had no comment Monday. Vitale said cones were set around the manhole and the portable ventilator was about 1 ½ feet tall. ”I still don’t understand how the guy didn’t see,” he said.

UPDATE, Forklift may have created leak
– Investigators say Cherry Growers’ blast may have been caused when truck hit a pipe carrying ammonia 
By STACEY SMITH, Record-Eagle staff writer
GREILICKVILLE – An explosion and fire at the Cherry Growers Inc. plant here may have been caused when a forklift driver accidentally hit a pipe causing an ammonia leak, investigators said Monday. The fire took firefighters about 10 hours to extinguish. It gutted a loading dock and mechanical room to a plant building, collapsing the roofs as well. No one was seriously injured. Elmwood Township Fire Marshal Capt. Marc Williams said Monday that preliminary investigations point to a forklift driver hitting an ammonia pipe inside the building. The company compresses liquid ammonia into a gas to use as a coolant for its refrigeration system. Williams said it has not been determined what caused the ammonia to ignite. He said he and the state fire marshal are still investigating. Compressed ammonia is flammable at a very short range, he said. Cherry Growers president Tom Rochford said it’s possible the gas ignited after coming into contact with too much air. “Mixed with the right amount of air, ammonia can be combustible,” Rochford said. The explosion occurred about 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The building was evacuated shortly beforehand when employees noticed the ammonia leak. Rochford said it was fortunate only 11 employees were at the plant at the time. This season’s record-low cherry crop kept staff levels below the typical 30 or 50 who are usually there during the harvesting season. One employee received first- and second-degree burns but was treated at the scene, Rochford said. Because of the possibility that ammonia is still in the air, it will be the end of the week before investigators can get inside the building to further determine the cause and complete a damage estimate, Williams said. Rochford said the company, a cooperative made up of 130 cherry farmers, plans to repair the Greilickville plant and reopen it next year. For the rest of this year, cherries that would have been processed there will be processed at a Grawn plant, he said. Williams said the nearest home to the Greilickville plant is more than a quarter of a mile away, so the neighbors were not in danger from the ammonia leak and fire.

Worker hurt when forklift falls off dock
By Richard Wronski, Tribune staff reporter
A warehouse worker was in critical condition Monday after the forklift he was operating at a Schaumburg importing company toppled off a loading dock and pinned him, authorities said. Dong Kim, 49, of Mundelein, was hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according to a spokesman, who would not reveal the extent of Kim’s injuries. Kim was operating the forklift at CNA International, 455 E. State Pkwy., around 1:30 p.m. when the machine toppled over the edge of a 4-foot-high loading dock, Schaumburg Fire Capt. Jerry Leska said. Fire Department personnel freed Kim by using an inflatable bag to lift the forklift, which weighs about 2 tons, Leska said. A helicopter flew Kim to Loyola. Glenn Wolf, manager of CNA International, said Kim was in charge of the company’s warehouse and had been employed for about one year. Wolf said Kim was working on the dock by himself. “We don’t really know what happened,” Wolf said. The forklift apparently got too close to the edge of the loading dock and toppled over, Wolf said. It appeared that Kim tried to jump off the forklift to avoid being pinned by part of the equipment, he said.

Man who lost legs to get $18.6 million

By JAMES BURGER, Californian staff writer

Wednesday July 10, 2002, 11:14:42 PM

A city parks worker who lost his legs two years ago when he was trapped between two trucks after a collision has received a $18.6 million settlement, according to his attorney. Frank Elliott lost both his legs on April 20, 2000, when a driver veered out of traffic on Reliance Drive and smashed into one of two trucks Elliott was standing between. According to police, the driver who caused the accident, Tommy Svare was adjusting his radio and didn’t know he was on a collision course. Rescue crews spent 20 minutes freeing Elliott, a city of Bakersfield parks supervisor, from the interlocked bumpers of the two pickup trucks. Elliott’s lawyer, Milt Younger of Chain, Younger, Cohn & Stiles, filed a negligence lawsuit against Svare in May 2000. Younger announced the $18.6 million settlement, to be distributed over the course of Elliott’s life, on Wednesday. Svare, contacted at work Wednesday, would not comment on the settlement. Elliott said he has not been concentrating on the lawsuit. “We let Mr. Younger handle that end of it,” he said. His focus, Elliott said, is still on regaining his ability to walk under his own power. “Rehabilitation is going pretty well,” he said. “We’re getting close to where I can walk with a single cane.” Elliott continues to drive to Northridge Hospital twice a week for therapy. He also works three days a week in the city of Bakersfield’s anti-graffiti division. He said his stamina is improving and he is able to walk more on his artificial limbs and for longer than he was able to before — though he still needs someone nearby to prevent a fall. Elliott and his wife, Doris Elliott, are taking life as it comes to them. “Just about every day brings new issues,” he said. The couple will be present at a news conference Younger has called to announce the settlement and give details about it. The briefing will be at the law firm’s offices at 1430 Truxtun Ave. at 10:30 a.m. today. “Mr. Younger set this up to get all the information out,” Elliott said. Maureen Buscher-Dang, representing Younger, said Elliott’s story contains a lesson for everyone. “Frank is an example of what happens when people don’t pay attention when they’re driving,” she said.

Worker Injured In Golf Cart Accident

A man’s foot was apparently severed at his ankle Thursday on the North Park golf course, WTAE’s Shiba Russell reported. Bruce Collins, a 36-year-old Allegheny County Parks employee, reportedly suffered a seizure and lost control of his golf cart while on his way to the clubhouse. It happened around 1 p.m., near the 15th hole. The cart went down a dirt-and-gravel embankment and crashed next to a fence that runs along a gully. Witnesses said Collins appeared to be unconscious just before the crash. Collins was taken to Passavant Hospital, then transferred to Allegheny General Hospital for surgery. He was still in the operating room as of 5 p.m. It is unclear what brought on the seizure. County police are investigating.

Worker injured at Mosquito Control complex

A Savannah man was injured in a workplace accident Tuesday at Chatham County Mosquito Control. Clark Bockray, 36, was in serious condition at Memorial Health University Medical Center. He was injured about 9:30 a.m. after being struck by a front-end loader that was backing up at the facility where he worked on Dean Forest Road, Chatham County police said. The loader lacked a backup alert, police said. Bockray suffered a broken jaw and other injuries.

Acetone spill catches fire at AMT

A business on Otterson Drive was evacuated early Tuesday morning after an acetone spill caught fire. Twelve workers were evacuated from Alternative Materials Technology at 311 Otterson Drive. The fire started when a forklift ignited a 3- to 5- gallon acetone spill. According to Marie Fickert, information officer for the Chico Fire Department, the spill was spotted by a batch mixer as he was filling a 500-gallon vat. Acetone, the ingredient that gives nail polish remover its distinctive odor, is highly flammable. “Some of the acetone spilled under the forklift,” said Fickert. “A second employee attempted to move the forklift away from the spill. When he pressed the accelerator, it started a flash fire at the rear of the lift.” The employees hit the fire alarm, Fickert added. Sprinklers did go off inside the building, keeping flames from spreading. Hazardous materials personnel from Chico, Paradise and Butte County FIre/CDF were called to the fire. Seven firefighters who entered the building went through decontamination protocols, including removing possibly contaminated clothing and an al fresco soap-and-water shower. Fickert said none of the fumes left the building. Otterson Drive was closed for three hours from Hegan Lane to Aztec Drive, forcing employees of other businesses in the area to park on Hegan Lane and walk into work. According to company president Bill Maligie, AMT. specializes in the manufacture of “environmentally sound, low volatile, organic wood coating compounds.”

WORK ACCIDENT KILLS HARD-HAT

By MARIA MALAVE

A construction worker was killed in Brooklyn yesterday when a truck hit him at his work site, police said. Sidney Douglas, 57, of Brooklyn was pinned against a wall by the truck, which was backing into the site on Classon Avenue in Prospect Heights at 12:15 p.m. He died about three hours later at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital. The driver of the truck was not charged.

Highway worker hit, killed

By LEN WELLS Courier & Press correspondent (618) 842-2159 or

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ill. – An Illinois Department of Transportation worker was killed Monday when a semi slammed into an endloader he was operating in rural Lawrence County. William E. Kasinger, 56, died shortly before 1 p.m. Monday at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville – several hours after the accident. A spokesman for the Illinois DOT office in Effingham, Ill., said Kasinger was on his way to remove a dead deer from Illinois 250 about two miles east of Sumner, Ill., when his endloader was hit. The driver of the semi was identified by Illinois State Police as Paul T. Sabine, 34, of Union Bridge, Md. Investigators say Sabine attempted to pass the DOT vehicle as it was making a turn off of the roadway, striking Kasinger’s vehicle in the side. The accident happened in a no-passing zone, where other DOT workers were on the job. Kasinger is survived by a wife and three children. Sabine was cited by state police for improper passing and failure to yield the right of way to a highway maintenance vehicle.

Driver injured when forklift overturns
From staff reports
A 21-year-old construction worker was injured this morning at Shawnee Park when the forklift he was operating tipped over with him inside it. Lucas Schoolcraft, a worker from Mandaren Construction, suffered injuries to his leg and was taken by ambulance to Thomas Memorial Hospital about 8 a.m., officials at the scene said. Schoolcraft was backing down an embankment at the park when the lift tipped, officials said. He jumped from the cab and was caught in the door. Four co- workers pulled him from the lift and called 911. Firefighters from the Institute Volunteer Fire Department responded within 1 minute. Mandaren Construction owner Amanda Morris said Schoolcraft had the bucket on the forklift too high in the air, which caused the machinery to tip. The construction crew was hired four weeks ago to replace the roof on the Shawnee Park clubhouse and was expected to finish the job within a week. Morris said Schoolcraft’s injuries were not critical.

14-year-old boy dies at warehouse

Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | A 14-year-old boy died Sunday after he was thrown from a forklift and crushed beneath it, apparently during a break-in at a Dayton warehouse. Authorities did not identify him Sunday. According to Dayton Police Lt. David A. Sherrer Sr., three boys entered Peerless Warehouse, 14 S. Marion St., and began driving forklifts around the property in a “wild manner.” The victim’s forklift went off the loading dock and he was tossed from the vehicle and crushed, Sherrer said. The other two boys ran to a residence and summoned help. Fire crews were dispatched about 6:40 a.m. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Police did not specify how long the boys were on the property. Sherrer said the other boys were taken into custody, interviewed and released.

Lorry overturns, one killed

MARANG: An estate worker was killed and 12 others injured when the lorry they were travelling in overturned at an oil palm plantation in Felda Rantau Abang II. Endon Awang, 47, from Kampung Jambu Bongkok, Merchang, died on the spot in the incident. Marang OCPD Deputy Supt Syed Wahab A. Majid said the 12 injured estate workers included six Indonesians. They were treated at Kuala Terengganu Hospital. He said the incident occurred at 7am yesterday when the workers were on their way to work at the plantation. “According to the estate manager, the lorry, laden with fertiliser, skidded and overturned when going downhill as the road was slippery,” he said. – Bernama

Cement truck rollover kills driver – Busy Juanita Drive closed as work crews struggle with heavy truck

Journal Staff

KENMORE — A truck driver was killed yesterday when his half-loaded cement truck rolled over on Juanita Drive Northeast, trapping him underneath. He died at the scene shortly before 4 p.m., before rescuers could extricate him. The north-south arterial remained closed in the vicinity of Inglewood Country Club at mid-evening as work crews tried to right the massive, red truck and get it off the roadway. A medical examiner also was at the scene. The dead man was not identified. Lt. Jim Torpin of the Northshore Fire Department said the cement truck was turning north onto Juanita Drive from Northeast 155th Place when it rolled over and hit a guardrail. Torpin said witnesses reported the driver honking as he made the turn. It wasn’t immediately known where the truck was coming from or where it was going. Fuel spilled from the Issaquah-based Rinker Cement truck, but didn’t appear to be a major problem.

WORKER IS INJURED IN COLLISION

A man escaped serious injury in a fork-lift truck accident at a Cheltenham metal firm. The man suffered injuries to his right foot in the accident at TW Bayston Ltd, in Tewkesbury Road, at 12.43pm yesterday, police said. The 28-year-old was taken by ambulance to Cheltenham General Hospital with an open wound to his foot, which is believed to have been broken. A spokeswoman for the Gloucestershire Ambulance Service said one crew was sent to the scene following a report that a man had been in collision with a fork-lift truck. TW Bayston is a metal finishing company which employs around 70 employees. Nobody was available for comment at the company. A spokeswoman for the Health and Safety Executive said: “The incident has not been reported to us at this stage. “We are not taking any action at this point.”

Millen man dies in tractor mishap

By ANGELA LEE, Reporter for the Statesboro (Ga.) Herald An autopsy will be performed to determine if a 41-year-old Millen man drowned Monday or died from injuries received when the tractor he was operating overturned on a pond bank on a Screven County dairy farm. Screven County Coroner James Strickland said he “isn’t sure” exactly how the unidentified man died, so he’s “sending the body to Atlanta to the crime lab” for more comprehensive testing. The victim’s name was not released but authorities said the 41-year-old was employed at the Krulic Dairy Farm near Rocky Ford, where the accident occurred Monday morning. Identification listed a Millen home address. A Screven County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said the victim was operating the tractor on the bank of a pond dam when the vehicle “slipped and landed on him.”

Man Injured In Tractor Rollover Accident

An Edmond man is recovering after being pinned under a tractor Monday.

Rescue crews said the man was mowing the law in front of the Crest grocery store when he got too close to the curb. The tractor flipped and the man was pinned underneath. The man suffered abdominal injuries, but is expected to recover.

Construction Worker Run Over by Bulldozer

A construction worker is dead after a horrific accident in which he was run over by a bulldozer. It happened around 10:25 a.m. Wednesday morning at a construction site at Ox Road and Full View Drive, in the Burke area. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue says the 65-year-old man was dead at the scene. The man was standing on the tracks of the bulldozer, trying to jump-start it with a screwdriver, when it lunged forward, running him over. ABC 7 has a news crew on the way and we will bring you the latest details as they become available.

OSHA Investigates Accident At Summerfest Grounds

A 30-year-old man was injured Thursday afternoon when two lift trucks collided on the Summerfest Grounds at Meier Festival Park. The industrial accident happened at about 1:30 p.m. near the Miller tents. Milwaukee police said that the man fell from one of the trucks and was taken to an area hospital. Summerfest had no comment other than to confirm there was an accident. OSHA is investigating the accident.

FORKLIFT TRAGEDY TRIAL COLLAPSES
MARK NAYLOR

HEALTH and safety bosses today insisted they had no regrets after the collapse of a trial involving the death of a man at the giant Conoco plant in South Killingholme. Forklift truck driver Steven Lambert was accused of failing to take proper safety precautions shortly before knocking down a man who later died. He allegedly never saw the 59-year-old victim because the truck’s forks and jib were raised up high as he transported a large coiled hose, Grimsby Crown Court heard. The accident happened at the Humber Oil Refinery as project manager David Gregory was walking towards an office on the site. He was crushed to death after being knocked over from behind, the court was told. He suffered chest, abdominal and pelvic injuries and died soon afterwards. Mr Lambert (21), of Hollingsworth Avenue, Immingham, denied failing to take reasonable care for the safety of others on November 6, 2000. The trial was halted and the charge dismissed after the prosecution offered no further evidence. Health and Safety Executive spokesman Bob Woodward, of the hazardous installations directorate, later told the Grimsby Telegraph: “We were disappointed at the outcome of this case but we hope that the airing of the issues, even though it was reasonably limited, will highlight the dangers of workplace transport and will help to reduce the high accident rate nationally. “We have a duty to put together evidence and bring the issues in front of the courts. Any kind of publicity is good publicity.” David Tremberg, prosecuting, said Mr Lambert was working as a forklift truck driver for Rigblast Energy Services Ltd at the site. He was carrying a coiled hose suspended from the forks and, to stop it trailing along the ground, had the forks and jib raised up high. Father-of-two Mr Gregory, of Totley, Sheffield, was working for an engineering construction company. He was walking up a site road to make a telephone call when the forklift driven by Mr Lambert hit him from behind. “With his view unobstructed, the defendant should have had the opportunity to see Mr Gregory and have him within his field of vision,” claimed Mr Tremberg. The court heard Mr Lambert told the police he thought he had hit a pothole or object and was distraught when he realised it was a man. “He said he could see all around and could also see clearly forward through the hoses,” added Mr Tremberg.

Firm fined after worker’s death
A WELLINGBOROUGH firm has been ordered to pay more than £15,000 after an accident which led to a worker’s death. Tingdene Homes, on the Finedon Road Industrial estate, admitted failing to ensure the safety at work of Craig Heath, who died in November, 2000. Mr Heath, 29, of Burton Latimer, fell from a truck he had been driving and was crushed by the vehicle in the accident on October 12, 2000. Acid then leaked from a battery, causing severe burns. Mr Heath, who was married with a three-year-old son, had to have a leg amputated but died of a pulmonary embolism – a blood clot on the lungs – a month later. At a hearing on Friday, Towcester magistrates fined Tingdene, which makes mobile homes, £12,000 and ordered it to pay £3,126 costs. The case had been brought by the Health and Safety Executive. At an inquest in December last year the accident was blamed on an uneven surface in the firm’s yard and faulty steering on the truck. A verdict of accidental death was recorded. A statement released after Friday’s hearing by Tingdene’s solicitors said: “Craig Heath was a popular and valued member of the Tingdene Homes staff. He was involved in a serious accident while at work. “He had been treated and discharged home to recover and we were looking forward to talking to Craig about getting him back to work as he got better. “Tragically and suddenly, some weeks later Craig developed complications, from which he did not recover. “The company co-operated in a detailed investigation by the authorities and accepted responsibility for making improvements to already extensive health and safety procedures. We continue to extend our deepest sympathy to Craig’s family.” Health and Safety Executive inspector Darren Allport said: “We are pleased the magistrates took into account the severity of the charge.”

Worker’s hand crushed in forklift accident

A WORKER lost part of his hand after it was crushed when a heavy load swung out of control at a Lothian engineering firm. A man in his late 50s suffered the injury at Halmond Engineering Products on the Mosshall Industrial Estate, Blackburn, West Lothian. He was hurt when a load carried by a forklift truck swung out of control and trapped his hand against the side of the truck. The Lothian and Borders Ambulance Service took the man, who has not been named, to St John’s Hospital in Livingston. Police also informed the Health and Safety Executive, which has launched an investigation into the incident. An HSE spokesman said investigators were waiting to hear from the company, which has ten days to respond. Nobody from Halmond Engineering Products was available to comment when contacted. The accident at Halmond Engineering is the third involving forklift trucks in the region in recent months. In April, Watco Design and Display of Dalkeith, which allowed a worker to drive a forklift without proper training, was fined £7000 after the vehicle ran over a man’s foot and caused multiple fractures. Last year, a forklift driver was crushed and later died after a horrific accident at Edinburgh’s Caledonian Brewery. He lay trapped for half an hour under the truck after it toppled while taking beer kegs from a lorry at the brewery.

Canadian Firefighter Dies After Rollover

HEATHER CASP, Firehouse.com News

Canadian firefighter Gary Giffin passed away Tuesday, June 11 after suffering serious injuries in a pumper rollover. Giffin, 31, had served the Fort Nelson Fire Department in British Columbia as a full time firefighter for one year, said Acting Assistant Chief Al Bone. On June 4 at 2:43 a.m. Giffin was responding alone in a pumper to a double-wide trailer fire. He was involved in an accident and the vehicle rolled, Bone said. Giffin was ejected from the vehicle and sustained serious head injuries. His coworkers responded, and he was flown to Edmonton University Hospital. He never regained consciousness and passed away June 11 at 9:50 a.m. This is the first line of duty death in the department, and the first time members had to respond to one of their own. “There’s a first time for everything,” Bone said sadly. Giffin is survived by his parents and his fiancee. He was a Tae Kwon Do instructor with his own club, and enjoyed softball. He was also an ardent fund raiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. “He was happy-go-lucky and loved the outdoors,” Bone said. The funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, June 19 at 2 p.m. at the Fort Nelson Community Recreation Center. The Fort Nelson Fire Department is a combination department with about six full time firefighters and 20 part time paid-on-call firefighters. They serve a population of 6000 in a fire district of approximately 45 square miles, with a large industrial area and both rural and urban residential areas. Fort Nelson is located in north eastern British Columbia at Mile 300 of the Alaska Highway, about 1,000 miles northeast of Vancouver.

Car boss crushed by engine

By The Evening Chronicle

A father-of-five was crushed to death when a car engine fell on him in a tragic work accident. John Pringle died minutes after the engine he was working on toppled over at his Tyneside scrap yard. An inquest at Newcastle Coroner’s Court heard Mr Pringle suffered massive wounds to his chest and suffocated to death after several ribs were broken and his lungs filled with blood. Mr Pringle, of Drove Road, Throckley, was working at his business J Pringle Auto Salvage, in Swalwell, Gateshead, on May 5, 2001 when the accident happened. At 6ft 5in and weighing 24 stones, Mr Pringle, was well known and loved in the Tyneside motor trade. The engine which crushed Mr Pringle had been hoisted up on a forklift truck which the inquest heard was over 25 years old and in poor mechanical condition. There were no witnesses to the accident but DC Paul Harris from Whickham CID, said police believed Mr Pringle had been standing beneath the lifted engine when the forklift mast slipped and he was struck in the chest. Graham Norton from the HSE said investigations had shown the forklift was in poor condition and tests showed the extending mast sometimes became stuck and then released without warning. Long-standing friend Russell Stonehouse was working at the other end of the yard when the fatal accident happened. He found Mr Pringle, a father of four and step dad of one, unconscious beneath the forklift lying next to the blood-stained engine. Mr Stonehouse told the inquest how he moved the forklift away from Mr Pringle’s body and desperately tried to save his life using mouth to mouth until an ambulance arrived. He said: “Johnny was a gentle giant. He was so kind and generous to everyone he met. He was like a brother to me.” Mr Pringle’s wife Pam was in the court along with his father Jack, but did not speak. More than 300 people crammed into Newburn church for his funeral last May. He was taken to Lemington Cemetery in a Victorian horse-drawn glass hearse. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.

Construction worker dies; Driver hit excavation job, police say

By Cathy Logg, Herald Writer

EVERETT — A Bothell company was devastated Monday by the death of one man and serious injury to another when a motorist drove into a construction zone and struck the men, then crashed into a parked dump truck. Some of the workers restrained the driver, who tried to leave the scene, police said. They held him until officers arrived. A 49-year-old Stanwood man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he underwent surgery before he died. A company foreman, he had been standing in a trench about 3 feet deep when a compact pickup drove through some orange cones and struck him, dragging him out of the trench. He suffered head, chest and abdominal injuries. The pickup also struck another worker, knocking the 32-year-old flagger from Marysville “quite some distance by the impact,” said Roger Thompson, a Puget Sound Energy spokesman. “Luckily for him, he was out of the hole,” Detective Pete Grassi said. The foreman and the other worker were employed by Pilchuck Contractors, Inc., a Bothell company installing a natural gas pipeline for Puget Sound Energy. The flagger was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center’s Colby Campus, where he was in serious condition with a head injury and facial fractures, hospital spokeswoman Cheri Russum said. He may be released today, company spokeswoman Julie Golich said. The pickup’s driver, reportedly is 48 and from the Everett area. He was not arrested. The crash occurred about 11 a.m. at 37th Street and Rucker Avenue, where the company had blocked off the outside northbound lane, where an excavator was digging a narrow trench. Prior to the work site, three large orange signs warned motorists of “road construction,” “lane closed ahead” and “flagger ahead.” An Everett Fire Department medical crew saw the worker who had been standing in the closed lane go “flying through the air,” Battalion Chief Ed Oas said. “At this time, the names of the employees involved are being withheld at the request of their families,” said Golich, the company’s human relations manager. “Our total attention and thoughts are with our employees and their families. Because the police and our own safety personnel are still investigating this accident, we do not have any other details at this time. We will be taking care of the employees.” Police closed the northbound lanes during the investigation and detoured traffic around the scene. Everett police and the state Department of Labor and Industries are investigating. The case will be forwarded to prosecutors when the investigation is complete.

Construction worker dies in accident at Olympic village

The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A construction worker at the 2004 Olympic village died after being run over by a van at the site Monday. The death of the 53-year-old Albanian man was the third death at the village within the last year, prompting builders to call a strike at the site Tuesday, the state-run Athens News Agency said. Labor ministry officials are carrying out an investigation into the accident, according Olympic Village 2004 AE, the company overseeing construction work. Representatives of the 1,500 workers at the venue have repeatedly complained of poor conditions. Four Greek construction groups are building the residential zone of the village, which will accommodate 17,300 athletes and officials at Menidi, about 15 miles north of Athens.

UPDATE, Railroad workers not warned of runaway car

By Brian D. Crecente, News Staff Writer

A rail worker killed by a runaway rail car Wednesday had no warning before it crushed him, officials said Thursday. Workers in the area had been told there was no need for a spotter because the rail was closed to all traffic, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokeswoman said. Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies notified the railroad about the runaway car moments before it bore down on the two workers. Railroad police and the Federal Railroad Administration continued to investigate Thursday how the car broke loose from six others and sped down more than 30 miles of track from Castle Rock to Denver before stopping in downtown.

Man injured after truck rolls down embankment

From staff reports
A contract employee working on the new U.S. 29 bypass was airlifted to University of Virginia Hospital on Monday evening after his truck flipped and rolled down a hill at the work site. According to Brian Tilton, first lieutenant with the Monelison Rescue Squad, the man was driving a truck with a water tank on top down a left-banking downhill turn when he lost control and went down an embankment between 30 and 40 feet long. The truck, which is about 15 feet tall, weighs about 66,000 pounds and is used to wet down dust on the road at the construction site, ended its roll down the hill with its crushed cab on the bottom and the wheels up in the air, trapping the driver in the cab. The Monelison Rescue Squad, which was assisted by the Lynchburg Lifesaving Crew, Monelison Fire Department and the Lynchburg Fire Department’s technical rescue unit, responded at around 4:15 p.m., said Tilton. The water had dumped out of the tank – which was now on the ground – and all the weight was at the top of the flipped truck. The squads grabbed any construction equipment they could find to secure the truck and keep it from tipping. With the truck secured, the rescue workers cut the door in half and got the man out at about 5:30 p.m. Tilton would not say what the driver’s name or injuries were, but did say the driver was conscious and talking when the Virginia State Police Medflight helicopter picked him up.

UPDATE, Milkman’s legs were crushed in accident

THE case of a milkman who was crushed between his float and a forklift truck has prompted health and safety bosses in Warrington to urge businesses to take proper precautions. In October last year, the milkman – who runs a franchise – was unloading his float at Express Dairies Direct Service in Howley when a forklift truck reversed out of a milk stock fridge and crushed him between the two vehicles. The victim suffered crush injuries to his legs and has been off work ever since. Express Dairies pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of persons other than employees at Warrington Magistrates’ Court earlier this month and was fined #4,000 and ordered to pay #1,171 costs. The case is an example of the sort of incident which health and safety officers at Warrington Borough Council are trying to highlight with the town’s businesses. They are currently targeting workplace transport issues in a bid to reduce accidents – and are reminding businesses that they are responsible for the safety of franchised and temporary staff. The borough council’s health and safety department is responsible for the protection of more than 3,000 business premises and 70,000 employees. Each year, nationally, around 70 people are killed and 1,600 seriously injured as a result of being hit by a vehicle at work.

Man dies in farming accident

A farmer in Lewiston township was killed Thursday afternoon after the skid loader he was using rolled over on top of him. Gary W. Seiler, 46, of N. 9620 County Highway XX died in the accident, which occurred shortly before noon on the family farm. According to a release from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, Seiler appeared to have struck a large field stone while using a skid loader to perform farm duties on uneven ground. The loader, a large agricultural implement similar to a forklift, rolled over, pinning Seiler underneath. He was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of his injuries.

Garbage Truck Backs Over, Kills Worker

A sanitation worker died Friday morning when a garbage truck he was working with ran over him. What police call a tragic accident occurred at 9:30 a.m. on Rain Forest Drive in Arlington, when a Southland Waste Systems truck attempted to turn around in a cul-de-sac. “The driver thought that he was on the back of the truck,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Gus Carlson said. “He was not, he was on the ground, picking up garbage. (The driver) accidentally backed into the victim, who died at the scene.” Police and the Florida Department of Transportation are both investigating to see if a mechanical problem might have been involved, because the truck also backed over a cable television box and mailboxes.

Boy injured by forklift goes home in style

PORTLAND – The 11-year old boy who was critically injured after being caught under a forklift on Mother’s Day got a stylish lift home Wednesday. OHSU doctors say that Tony Bennett made a miraculous recovery after undergoing weeks of intensive re-constructive surgery. Since the accident, fire fighter paramedics from Clackamas County Fire District No. 1 have developed a strong friendship with Tony. Today, “Turbo-Tony” as the fire fighters call him, was given a ride home on a fire engine. Tony has told the firefighters he has a strong desire to be a fire fighter when he gets older. Tony’s older brother, Christopher, is expected to join him on the fire engine for the ride home.

Island man, 19, killed by forklift

Worker from Great Kills is crushed to death at Columbus Circle construction site

By MICHAEL SCHOLL, ADVANCE STAFF WRITER

A young Great Kills man was killed last night when he was crushed by a forklift while working at a Manhattan construction site. Thomas Gray Jr., 19, of Keats Street, was fatally injured around 7 p.m. at the former site of the New York Coliseum at 10 Columbus Circle. An office and condominium complex is now being built there. Police said Gray was driving a forklift at the construction site when he made a sharp turn which caused the machine to tip to the side. Gray got out of the machine after it tipped over and tried to get it back up on all four wheels. But the forklift fell on top of him and crushed him to death. Gray was pronounced dead at the scene, and his family was notified of the accident a short time later. A distraught woman reached at Gray’s home refused to comment on the incident last night. The circumstances behind the accident were still under investigation last night, police said. The New York Coliseum opened in 1956 an exhibition and convention center, but it was later torn down after it was supplanted by the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the West Side. The complex being built at the Coliseum site will house the corporate headquarters for AOL-Time Warner, along with condominiums, stores, a luxury hotel and a theater for Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Quadriplegic appeals workers’ comp pay

By George Strawley, The Associated Press

HARRISBURG — A man rendered a quadriplegic as a result of a workplace accident after three months on the job full time is fighting in the state Supreme Court to have his workers’ compensation restored to a higher level. Charles Snyder Jr., whose case was heard by the state’s highest court Tuesday, saw his benefits reduced because of part-time work he performed while still in high school. Snyder, of Quakertown, was 19 years old when he was pinned beneath a forklift in a 1996 accident. Snyder, who lost the use of both his legs and the partial use of one arm in the accident, had been on the job full time for about three months. Snyder’s workers’ compensation was calculated based on his average weekly wage for months he worked full time for Hanaberry Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. The figure came to $474, which would have translated into a weekly compensation rate of $316. A Commonwealth Court panel ruled, however, that his wages from when he worked for the same company on a part-time basis, while he was still in high school, should be included in the equation. Those salaries, which dipped as low as $57.25 a week, reduced Snyder’s average salary and brought his compensation rate down to $207 a week. “If allowed to stand, the court’s decision will add the insult of a lifetime of part-time compensation to Charles’ injury of permanent, irreparable quadriplegia,” Snyder’s attorney, Kurt E. Clawson, argued in a brief filed in the case. Snyder filed his appeal against Hanaberry and its insurer, Donegal Mutual Insurance Cos. The state Legislature amended the state workers’ compensation law in the same month that Snyder graduated from high school. The revised law was meant to make it tougher for a worker whose wages varied — such as one who earned large amounts of overtime — to collect workers’ compensation at a peak wage by subjecting such a worker to an averaging of wages over three quarters, Clawson said. Clawson told the justices Tuesday that Snyder’s circumstances were vastly different. “The simple truth is the Legislature did not consider this situation,” Clawson said. But an attorney for the company and its insurer said reversing the lower court’s decision would lead to higher payments to other workers who don’t deserve them.

Road Grader Rips Pipeline In Oklahoma ; School Evacuated A road grader ripped open a 14-inch natural gas pipeline in Mutual, Oklahoma , spewing gas into the air and prompting firefighters to evacuate a high school almost two miles away. The man driving the grader was treated and released at Woodward Regional Hospital after he was sprayed by the gas yesterday afternoon. There was no fire, but the spewing gas blew a hole about 10 feet deep and 10 to 15 feet in diameter in the dirt. The gas was less than 550 pounds of pressure when the grader broke the pipeline, authorities said. Gas line owner Duke Energy Co. shut off gas to the line about an hour and 20 minutes after the grader ruptured the pipe, firefighters said. Sharon-Mutual High School students were evacuated because a strong wind was blowing natural gas toward the school. A baccalaureate was held later Wednesday at the school.The gas line rupture happened a day after area firefighters attended an emergency response meeting by The Pipeline Group.

One Dead in Texas Truck Accident
UVALDE, Texas (AP) – An 18-wheel truck slammed into a front-loader construction rig Thursday and then careened into a moving freight train, killing one person. The truck struck an empty box car of the 112-car about 70 miles west of San Antonio, Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said, citing witness reports. The train then dragged the truck to a nearby bridge, where eight to nine cars derailed. At least one car and the bridge erupted in flames, but the blaze was quickly extinguished, Bromley said. No hazardous material was spilled, he said. The name of the victim was not released. Bromley said no one on the train was injured. The train was headed to San Antonio from Southern California .

Pair of truck mishaps claim 2

BUCKS COUNTY — Two truck drivers were killed in two separate accidents in Bucks County yesterday, including one mishap in Falls Township where a load of 1,600-pound steel pipes fell on top of a victim as he stood near his flatbed at NovoLog deepwater port. In both incidents, the victim was crushed instantly and never had a chance to avoid their fate, witnesses said. During the first incident, which occurred about 7:45 a.m. in Warwick Township ,dump truck driver Mark Haflo, 41, was delivering a load of crushed stone to a construction site along Old York Road near the Hartsville section of town when he noticed the lift bucket on his rig got stuck halfway up, officials said. Police said Haflo, of East Greenville , Pa. , had climbed under the not-yet-dumped bucket of stone and was pouring hydraulic fluid in a small reservoir tank when a brace gave way, causing the entire bucket stone to slam back into place. With Haflo trapped under the fully-loaded bucket, panicked construction workers used a bulldozer and backhoe to lift the load off the victim, but found the rig too heavy to budge. The crushed stone had to be unloaded before workers could free the victim, police said. Haflo, who worked for JD Contractors, of Furlong, Pa. was rushed to Warminster General Hospital but was already deceased, officials said. In the second accident, which occurred about 2:45 p.m. in Falls Township , a 31-year old truck driver was crushed to death when a load of 1,600 pound steel pipes fell ontop of him as he stood near his flatbed rig at the NovoLog port near the USX Industrial site. Officials said the man, from Keedysville , Maryland , was apparently waiting for his flatbed truck to be loaded by a forklift when a band broke holding a half-dozen steel pipes together broke. The pipes rolled off the forklift and landed ontop of the driver, who apparently did not see what had occurred. “He never even had a clue of what was about to happen,” said one NovoLog co-worker who tried to help the man but found the injuries too severe. Authorities last night said they could not release the man’s name until his family has been notified of his death. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed today, authorities said. NovoLog president David Reid last night characterized the death as a terrible tragedy, and said OSHA and Falls police have been advised of the accident and were already investigating.

Tractor rolls onto, kills golf course worker

By M. Scot Skinner , ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The 26-year-old groundskeeper crushed to death Wednesday morning at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort was a proud, easygoing Nicaraguan who was well on his way to building a new life in Tucson . Wilbert Torrez was pinned under a small, three-wheel tractor when it toppled into a shallow lake directly in front of the resort’s main entrance. A co-worker who was mowing the 18th green rushed to his aid, but Torrez was unresponsive, authorities said. Torrez, who coached a local soccer team and enjoyed playing golf as well, was taken to Tucson Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at about 10 a.m. Devastated relatives said Torrez and his extended family moved here in 1995 after surviving the civil war in Nicaragua. He lived in an apartment on North First Avenue with his father, Armando Torrez, and his twin 17-year-old brothers. Armando Torrez, who also works as a groundskeeper at a golf course, said his son was full of dreams for the future. A legal permanent resident, the younger Torrez planned to become a U.S. citizen and build a family with Lorena Dibello, his fiancee. “We are so brokenhearted you can hardly imagine,” said his father. The tractor he was operating Wednesday morning went over an embankment and ended up on top of him, said District Chief George Good of the Rural/Metro Fire Department. “Our hearts go out to the family of our employee,” said George White, Ventana Canyon Lodge general manager. “We’re all in shock.” It was the first fatal accident in the 15 years the resort has been open, he said. In addition to his father and three brothers, Torrez is survived by his mother, Ana Ortiz, and his 22-year-old sister.

Highway worker run over, trapped, by road grader

By:Jennifer Wilmes

A 22-year-old county employee who was run over and trapped by the back tire of a road grader Monday was listed in critical condition this morning at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne . Sean Kunkle, Portland , a summer employee for the Jay County Highway Department, was trapped under the 8,500-pound grader for several minutes before being freed by co-workers. He was first taken by Jay Emergency Medical Service to Jay County Hospital and then flown by Samaritan Helicopter to Parkview. Kunkle was working with county and LICA Construction Corporation employees berming on county road 800 South just west of county road 700 West in southwest Jefferson Township, when the incident occurred about 11:30 a.m. County highway department superintendent Robert Sours visited Kunkle Monday night in the intensive care unit at Parkview.”He knew who I was. He couldn’t talk because of the tube in his throat but he winked at me. I left there with a good feeling,” Sours said this morning. The incident happend when Kunkle attempt to jump on and stop the grader, which began rolling while the driver took a break.The grader wheel was lifted off of Kunkle’s chest thanks to the efforts of four county and LICA employees, who quickly hooked a chain to the rear of the grader and to a lift on the front of a county dump truck. The dump truck was driven by county employee Jim McEwen. LICA employee Todd Striker led the operation that removed Kunkle, Sours said this morning. “(Striker) got the job done. He kept a level head,” Sours said. The grader, owned by LICA, Berne , was driving behind Kunkle’s truck ,working to level stone being dumped on the shoulder of the road. The driver of the grader, LICA employee Todd Gullett, stopped the grader, turned its engine off and exited the grader. After Gullett got off of the grader it began to roll. Kunkle, who was still driving the sweeper, noticed the grader rolling. He exited the sweeper and went to the grader. As Kunkle attempted to get on the grader to stop it he fell beneath the left rear wheel. Monday was Kunkle’s first day working for the county department this summer, Sours said. Kunkle is the son of Shirley Brinkerhoff and Dick Kunkle, both of rural Portland . He attends Ball State University in Muncie . Employees of Rescue 19, Redkey First Responders and Jay County Sheriff’s Department were also at the scene Monday.

Update: Boy Hit With Forklift In Fair Condition

MILWAUKIE , Ore. — An 11-year-old boy crushed in a forklift accident has been upgraded to fair condition. Anthony Bennett from Seaside was at the Oak Grove Fred Meyer store on Sunday when he was accidentally struck by a forklift and dragged about 10 feet. On Wednesday, Anthony’s father, David Bennett (pictured right), thanked the community for its support. “I just ask that you keep Tony in your prayers, but even more than that, there’s another person involved in this accident. That was the driver of the forklift. I ask that you keep him in your prayers because he also has a family.” David says anyone interested in helping Anthony can do so by donating blood at the American Red Cross on his behalf.

Bridgeport loses suit after worker crushed by truck
By DANIEL TEPFER
BRIDGEPORT – A jury has ordered the city to pay more than $1 million to a former trash collector who was crushed while riding on a municipal garbage truck five years ago. A six-member Superior Court jury deliberated about 3 days before finding the city negligent Friday for injuries suffered by Amadeu Souto, 68, of Shelton . It awarded $1,054,804 to Souto. However, a prior agreement between the plaintiff and city limits the amount the city will actually pay to $700,000, with Souto receiving an additional $135,000 in worker’s compensation payments. “I am saddened that Mr. Souto had to relive the tragedy in the courtroom and although he will never have his health again it was important for him to tell what happened to him and have the jury understand what was lost, said his lawyer, John Naizby of Branford. According to Naizby, on Jan. 7, 1997 , Souto was riding on the outside rear of a garbage truck traveling on Canaan Road , when the truck swerved toward the side of the road. Souto was pinned between the garbage truck and a parked truck, the lawyer said, causing him to suffer eight broken ribs, two collapsed lungs and permanent nerve damage. Because of those injuries, Naizby said his client, who is married and has three adult daughters and three grandchildren, has not been able to work again. “He has permanent disability to his back and right arm and cannot raise his right arm above his waist without difficulty, he said. During the weeklong trial, the city argued that Souto’s own negligence caused his injuries. “The city recognizes that the plaintiff, Mr. Souto, suffered an unfortunate accident and we wish him and his family well in dealing with the injuries he sustained, said city spokesman Joseph Gresko. “We do not agree, however, with the jury’s verdict which attributed the cause of Mr. Souto’s accident to the negligence of a fellow city public facilities employee, Gresko added. Gresko said the city attorney’s office has begun a review of employee compliance with the city’s trash collection work rules and that employees would be retrained if necessary to ensure that similar accidents don’t happen in the future. Daniel Tepfer, who covers state courts and law enforcement issues, can be reached at 330-6308.

Highway Department Employee Injured By Track Hoe

by Sherri Osteen

County Highway Department employee Edward “Boxy” Wilson was seriously injured on April 16th when a county track hoe crushed his feet and legs. Public Works Superintendent Jim Smith has refused to release the name of the track hoe operator. Wilson, a truck driver and the unidentified track hoe operator were loading dirt at the county landfill in Somerville when the accident occurred. According to Smith, Wilson was standing beside his dump truck when the small track hoe/excavator went into reverse and ran over his feet and legs. Smith said the operator did not see Wilson . “It was an unfortunate accident,” Smith said. No charges were filed against the operator, who is still working for the county. Wilson was transported by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital , where he underwent surgery for his crushed foot and a broken leg. “It is my understanding that he crushed all of the bones in the top of his left foot and his toes,” Smith explained. “He also had a second surgical procedure to apply a special cast to his right leg.” Smith said Wilson will have to undergo physical rehabilitation, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Machinery Operator Dies In Accident

A Spring Branch man died Wednesday afternoon after a piece of heavy machinery he was operating tipped over while he was working on the Northeast Side, authorities said. Douglas Charles Grieve, 22, was killed at a rock quarry at Vulcan Materials at Loop 1604 and Judson Road. Grieve was airlifted to University Hospital where he died shortly after arrival. It was still not clear how the accident happened.

Fire crews clean up Opa-locka Airport spill

Miami-Dade hazardous materials and fire rescue units were called to Opa-locka Airport this morning to deal with a reported bacteria spill. A forklift driver working at the airport called police and said he’d been exposed to some hazardous materials after running over a crate. Hazmat crews say a very small amount of bacteria that is used for medical testing was released. They cleaned up the spill. The forklift driver was not injured.

UPDATE, Firm fined over accident with forklift

A north Shropshire factory was ordered to pay more than £4,500 by magistrates at Market Drayton today after a worker’s legs were injured in an accident involving a forklift truck. Matthew Wellburn, of Whitchurch, was standing on the forks of the vehicle when its load flipped over on top of him, the court heard. BCM Contracts, of Whitchurch, was fined £4,000 with £578 costs after admitting failing to provide a system of work to ensure the safety of employees involved in transporting products. Dr Janice Dale, prosecuting for the Health & Safety Executive, said Mr Wellburn was injured while working at the plant last June 10. He was standing on the forks of a forklift truck as he helped to transport some fibreglass and cement panels. Mr Wellburn had been copying the method other employees used which Dr Dale described as “an accident waiting to happen”. While reversing the truck the panels flipped and fell on to Mr Wellburn trapping one of his legs, Dr Dale said. He was quickly released but suffered a ligament injury to his left knee and would have to have an operation, she added. Mr Barry Holland, for BCM, said the company did not condone the practice and had issued a notice warning that forklifts should not take passengers. All drivers had been re-trained since the incident at great cost to the company, he added, and there was little chance of another accident occurring. The panels were transported very rarely, about twice a year at most.

Construction Worker Falls 40 Feet from Forklift

WJLA

A construction worker in Rockville has been takento an area hospital after falling about 40 feet from a forklift. The accident happend around 7:20 a.m. according to Montgomery County Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer. Emergeny crews and a helicopter rushed to the scene to take the victim to the hospital. The unidentifiedman was working with a constructioncrewin the 800 block of Grand Champion Drive in the King Farm development. Piringer says the construction worker has suffered “traumatic injuries.”

City Fined For Maintenance Worker’s Death

The federal government has fined the city of Greensboro $6,300 for the death of Stephen Allen. Allen, a maintenance worker, was crushed by a garbage truck while collecting leaves in October. Occupational health administrators said the city should not have allowed Allen to stand on the rear of a garbage truck while it backed up.

Roadworks fatality
It is reported that a roads maintenance worker has died from extensive injuries after he became trapped in road maintenance equipment. The accident occurred at the ICI plant in Stevenston, Ayrshire, where contractors had been engaged on maintenance.