The latest deaths in the workplace, at least as many as I can locate. Lots of vehicle related fatalities this week, and as usual, several who have no names.
25-year-old dies after falling at work; 8th worker death in Michigan this year
Kalamazoo, MI — The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports the state’s eighth workplace death of the year happened in Kalamazoo. MIOSHA says on April 23, 2017, the 25-year-old laborer fell about 12 and a half feet from a commercial roof onto a concrete area. The man suffered a severe head injury, and was hospitalized for 12 days before he died on May 4. There were 43 MIOSHA-related deaths in 2016. The lowest number of workplace related deaths happened in 2009 with 24.
Man pulled into rock crusher in Altus identified, passes away
ALTUS, OK (KSWO)- The man injured in a construction accident earlier this week just outside of Altus has passed away. Jimmy Ray Baker, 45, worked for Beck-O enterprises based in Vernon and Grand Rose, Texas. Baker was from Houston.Shortly after 11:00 a.m. on May 2nd, Altus Fire, Police and EMS were called to the 1500 block of west Broadway to rescue a male construction worker that had been caught by a rock crusher. According to authorities, Baker was working on the rock crusher, trying to clear a jam when he was pulled into it.
Worker dies after truck falls into pit at Rosebud Mine
Billings, MT –A coal miner died Saturday afternoon in an incident that involved a large dump truck at the Rosebud Mine outside of Colstrip. The miner was identified Sunday night as Michael Ramsey, 62, of Colstrip, said Rosebud County Sheriff Allen Fulton. Emergency crews were contacted at about 5:20 p.m. on Saturday. Ramsey was driving the truck and for some reason fell more than 100 feet into a pit, Fulton said. He said a mine rescue crew rappelled into the pit and retrieved Ramsey’s body. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Ramsey was the only person involved in the wreck. Westmoreland Coal Company owns the Rosebud Mine and is based in Englewood, Colorado.
Casino guard dies after wrestling assault suspect
NIAGARA FALLS, NY – A security guard at Seneca Niagara Casino went into cardiac arrest and died early Saturday after subduing a man who had reportedly assaulted a female patron inside the casino’s Stir nightclub. Niagara Falls police said the suspect tried to flee the area after punching the woman in the throat shortly before 3 a.m., but he was caught by Thomas Dardes, who was working security. Dardes wrestled with the man briefly. After the suspect was detained, Dardes was out-of-breath and looked pale, casino employees told police. He went to a room to lie down and then went into cardiac arrest, according to police.He was pronounced dead a short time later at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.
Authorities: Worker electrocuted by power line
Lockport, LA — A gas company worker was electrocuted by a downed power line Thursday afternoon in Lockport and died, authorities said. The man, identified as 63-year-old Kim McGee of Raceland, was in the process of locating a gas line so Entergy technicians could repair some power lines that had been blown down during a thunderstorm late Tuesday night, South Coast Gas Co. President Michael St. Romain said. “He was locating our gas lines so that Entergy could replace a broken pole,” St. Romain said. “There were some wires that he came into contact with that were not isolated. When he came into contact with those wires, it killed him.” The power lines were all too familiar to Sampey Fabrication owner Ross Sampey, who said he’s made numerous attempts to have the utility pole relocated because it posed a danger to his employees.
Hanover Park mourns loss of longtime employee in mowing accident
Hanover Park, IL — Hanover Park is mourning the loss of a longtime public works employee who died on the job Friday. Steven D. Daley, 50, of Streamwood was killed after being pinned under a riding lawn mower at the village’s Public Works Treatment Plant.According to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, Daley was pinned underwater by the mower and drowned. The death was ruled an accident by the medical examiner.
Two Owen County Highway Department employees struck by car, one killed
OWEN COUNTY, Ind.– Police are investigating after two Owen County Highway Department employees were struck by a car Friday morning. The incident occurred around 6:45 a.m. A 911 dispatcher received a call saying a person had been struck by a vehicle. When first responders arrived, they found Ricky L Fishel, 60, and Jeffery A. Hodges, 51, had been hit. Fishel was pronounced dead on the scene. Hodges was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for treatment. Investigators believe the driver was traveling southbound on Jones Road in a 2007 Jeep Commander. As the driver approached Little Mount Road, he struck the two men, who were outside of their county-owned vehicle to remove a fallen tree.
Maine truck driver dies in Turnpike crash
HOLIDAY CITY, Ohio — A truck driver was killed in a crash late Wednesday morning that shut down the Ohio Turnpike’s westbound lanes for about 4½ hours. Bruce Wichenbach, 68, of Waldoboro, Maine, was killed in the 11:39 a.m. crash near Williams County Road 16, troopers at the Ohio Highway Patrol’s Swanton post said. Mr. Wichenbach’s westbound tractor-trailer went out of the travel lanes and struck another semi parked on the right shoulder, then hit a guardrail and overturned, troopers said.
Missouri authorities ID driver killed in truck-train crash
FOLEY, Mo. — Authorities have identified a dump truck driver killed when his vehicle was hit by a coal train in northeast Missouri, causing about 30 of the railcars to derail and spill their contents of the black ore. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 38-year-old Shanon Amerosa of Troy was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the accident Friday near Foley in Lincoln County.
Tennessee Sheriff’s Deputy Killed in Wreck
Columbia, TN – A Maury County, Tennessee Sheriff’s deputy died Saturday morning from injuries sustained in an on-duty crash Friday. Deputy Jimmy Tennyson was driving his Ford Crown Victoria along Iron Bridge Road around 7:30 a.m. when he negotiated a turn and over-corrected after he crossed the center line, causing him to leave the road before going down an embankment and hitting a tree.
Construction worker dies in fall at rink in Marlboro
MARLBORO, MA – A 30-year-old construction worker from Arizona was killed when he fell 35 to 50 feet while working at the New England Sports Center on Sunday. Marlboro Police Lt. Robert Jusseaume said the man was working for a steel company that is constructing new ice rinks at the facility on Donald Lynch Boulevard. It is believed he fell from a beam, police said.
Well known CBP officer killed in I-19 crash
Worker killed, two injured in construction accident at Sherman apartments
SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) — One person died, and two others have been transported to a Plano hospital after a flag pole fell onto a power line at a Sherman apartment complex. It happened around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the River Ranch apartment complex on FM 1417 in Sherman. Sherman Fire Chief Danny Jones said around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday ground crew members were lifting the flag pole in front of the apartment complex, when it fell over onto a power line. Officials said Kiley Russell died at Wilson N Jones Hospital. The other workers, Devin Schares and Jackson Wells were taken to a Plano hospital’s burn unit. They are in critical condition. “First off, our hearts and prayers go out to the people injured but there were three people injured on an electrocution with a customer with our primary voltage,” ONCOR Area Manager Todd Thompson said.
SUSPECT BARRICADED IN HOME AFTER DELAWARE OFFICER KILLED
Millford, DE – A man suspected of fatally shooting a DE state trooper was shot and killed by officers after a 20-hour standoff at his home, state police said Thursday. The unnamed suspect fired at officers who were outside his home around 4 a.m., police said. Stephen Ballard was shot in the parking lot of the Wawa store at 1605 Pulaski Highway shortly after 12 p.m. Wednesday.
Man falls to death at Sutter Home Winery in St. Helena
NAPA COUNTY, CA –A Vallejo man installing refrigeration piping at Sutter Home Winery in St. Helena died Thursday afternoon after falling 16-feet through the roof, according to the Napa County Sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office said 56-year-old Daniel Colombo was doing repair work at 100 Main Street around 12:40 p.m., when he fell through a fiberglass light panel to his death. According to the sheriff’s office, Colombo was not wearing a safety harness at the time of the incident and died as a result of severe head injuries.
Two Rhode Island residents ID’d in Billerica auction crash
Billerica, MA — Two Rhode Island residents were among the three people killed Wednesday when an elderly employee at a Billerica auto auction plowed an SUV into a crowd of people, injuring nine others, authorities said Brenda Lopez, 48, and Pantaleon Santos, 49, both of Rhode Island, were pronounced dead at Lynnway Auto Auction, said Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan and Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa. Leezandra Aponte, 36 — a Lowell mother of three who was only hours into her first day on the job at the auto auction — was rushed to Lahey Hospital, where she later was pronounced dead, authorities said. The president of Lynnway, Jim Lamb, said in a statement yesterday that safety barriers will be installed to keep vehicles from leaving their designated lanes during auctions.
Tower tech’s 150-foot fall in Mississippi is nation’s second 2017 fatality
Meridian, MS — Kris Edward Runyon, 39, has been identified as the tower technician who fell from a Crown Castle guyed tower near Meridian, Miss. yesterday evening and was pronounced dead at the scene. A resident of Portsmouth, Ohio, Runyon had been working for D&K Nationwide Communications Inc. of Bristol, Conn. for the past year, but according to the company’s president, Derek Case, Runyon had over 16 years of industry experience. Case said that he has been informed by a coworker who was on the tower who did not see Runyon fall that Runyon was just finishing up taking project photographs. An additional crew member was on the ground. As a subcontractor to turfing contractor MasTec, D&K was performing an AT&T LTE upgrade.
Benicia City Worker Dies After Rollover Crash In Public Works Truck
SOLANO COUNTY, CA — An employee with the City of Benicia died Wednesday morning after the truck he was driving crashed and rolled over, city official said. The crash was reported at Lake Herman and Reservoir Roads this morning at 10:39 a.m. on May 3, and the driver has been identified as Michael Ferrara, 59, of Vallejo. Ferrara was a 13-year employee with the city’s Public Works Department’s Maintenance Division, according to city officials.
Officials identify worker killed when truck cab runs over him
Roanoke, Va — An employee at a Christiansburg company died this morning in a workplace accident. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office identifies him as 52-year-old William Kinder, Jr. of Riner. Officials say Kinder working on a tractor trailer cab in the maintenance shop at Turman Lumber when he was run over by the front wheels. A preliminary investigation shows the truck was in reverse when it was started up.
Gunman upset over electric bill before shooting Laclede Gas employees
ST. LOUIS, MO – Investigators are trying to determine what led a gunman to open fire on two utility workers in a residential neighborhood in St. Louis, killing both of them before fatally shooting himself. Sources tell the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the shooter was upset about an unpaid electric bill. Family and friends of the shooter tell police that he was concerned about not paying Ameren Missouri. That could be a possible motive in the fatal shootings. They did not know why he would shoot himself. He did not have a history of mental issues or drug abuse. Police say the gunman walked up to the two men who worked for Laclede Gas on Thursday morning and started shooting, then turned the gun on himself. Both Laclede Gas and the electric company Ameren Missouri pulled workers from the streets for the rest of the day as a precaution.The shooter is identified as 51-year-old Clinton Willis. The workers are 27-year-old Alex Boschert and 52-year-old William Froelich.
Arkansas fire chief killed in Sunday’s storms
Cove Creek, AR — Early Sunday morning, April 30, 2017, Cove Creek/Pearson Fire Chief Doug Deckard was out serving his community during the midst of a torrential thunderstorm. While checking a particular area, Doug was involved in a tragic accident and was killed.