Jacksonville, FL — One worker died and another was critically injured Thursday after a three-story fall at a construction site near Myrtle Avenue and West 16th Street, authorities said. The accident occurred about 11:50 a.m. at the Mary Eaves apartment complex under construction in the 1200 block of West 16th Street.The men were working out of a wooden crate perched atop a hydraulic lift, loading doors into a third-story window, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The pair fell when the crate they were using as a platform tipped over and came crashing to the ground, said Sgt. David Smith. It’s unclear if the workers were strapped into harnesses. “It came loose from the lift and fell to the ground, taking them with it,” Smith said. The fall comes the same week as OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. The initiative is marked by voluntary events for employers to educate and have dialogue with employees about workplace hazards, prevention methods and safety policies.

Tow truck driver struck while assisting motorist dies

HARKER HEIGHTS, TX — A Killeen tow truck driver died Thursday morning after being struck by a minivan while attending to a vehicle on U.S. Highway 190/Interstate 14. At approximately 6:20 a.m., the driver, who was a vehicle recovery specialist with Goodes Towing, was loading a vehicle onto the back of his truck when he was struck by the minivan driving westbound on 190, according to Harker Heights Police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Miller. Miller said the tow truck driver had activated his emergency headlights and was walking from the stalled vehicle back to the truck at the time of the collision. The force of the collision amputated the man’s right leg below the knee.

Employee dies in fire at North Carolina golf course

ELKIN, NC (AP) – An employee has died after an explosion at a North Carolina golf course. Wilkes County Chief Deputy Sheriff David Carson says the fire was reported early Thursday at the Countryside Golf Course in Elkin. Investigators say 64-year-old Gary Jordan died when a fire started in a building that stored golf carts. Investigators think the explosion occurred while Jordan was fueling the golf carts. About 20 carts were destroyed.Firefighters don’t know what caused the initial fire, but they think the fuel from the golf carts sparked the explosion.

Worker dies after incident in flooded basement

Ketchum, ID — A Ketchum man died Wednesday after attempting to pump water from the basement of a home at the eastern end of Eagle Creek Road, north of Ketchum.  Mike Wirth, 54, who was hired to work at the site, died after being brought to the hospital Wednesday afternoon, family friend Susan Teren confirmed. Teren is also the office manager of Wirth Co., a Ketchum-based landscaping company that Wirth owned with his wife, Tami Nakaoka. The Ketchum and Sun Valley fire departments were dispatched around 11 a.m. Wednesday to reports of a man trapped in a flooded basement.

Crash update: Semi-truck driver killed by detached container

Tacoma, WA — A semi-truck driver died after the container he was hauling detached and smashed into the truck’s cab. The driver, traveling on northbound I-5 in Tacoma, was braking for traffic when the truck hit a center Jersey barrier near South 72nd Street. The container detached from the truck’s chassis, smashed into the cab, killed the driver, and then rolled into the southbound lanes.

Highway Patrol releases name of semi-truck driver killed in collision

NEW TOWN, N.D. – UPDATE: The name has been released of one of the semi-truck drivers who was killed on Highway 23B near New Town, N.D., on May 6. The North Dakota Highway Patrol says a frac sand semi was heading west and a crude oil semi, driven by 29-year-old Anthony Gonzales, was heading east.The west-bound truck came into Gonzales’ lane and the trucks collided head-on. Both vehicles caught on fire and burned completely.

Investigation continues into falling death of Newton man