Confined Space

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Weekly Toll

Weekly Toll: Nothing Good Here

ByJordan Barab

May 22, 2017 #Florida, #Illinois, #Iowa, #Massachusetts, #Missouri, #New Hampshire, #New Jersey, #New York, #North Carolina, #Oklahoma, #Pennsylvania, #Tennessee, #Texas, #Virginia, #Washington, #West Virginia

JCP&L employee dies after Freehold electrocution

FREEHOLD, NJ – A Jersey Central Power & Light employee died after touching live high-voltage wires — but not immediately: He was able to walk, talk and describe exactly what happened before suffering a fatal medical episode.  Andrew Powers, 56, of Metuchen was working on a piece of transforming equipment on Kings Mountain Road shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday when he lost his balance, police said. “As he was falling, he reached out to break his fall, and his left arm hit the door of the panel and his right hand came into contact with live wires,” said police Lt. Raymond Piccolini, relaying what Powers himself told officers who responded to the scene.

 

Truck driver dies after four-vehicle crash on Turner Turnpike at Bristol

Tulsa, OK — A Broken Arrow man died Friday evening after a crash on the Turner Turnpike involving his truck, another tractor-trailer rig, a car and a pickup, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported. Jackie Douglas Jones, 66, of Broken Arrow died at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, where he was taken after the crash. Troopers said his 1996 Freightliner truck struck another truck from behind in the crash, which occurred during a rainstorm.

Worker killed in electrocution accident in Amity

AMITY, N.Y. – A collision between a backhoe and an overhead utility pole caused the death of a 26-year-old man on Ingraham Road Wednesday night. According to New York State Police reports. the backhoe struck an overhead utility line causing a utility pole to break and descend, The primary distribution line then fell on Derek Roeske, 26, who was standing nearby assisting the backhoe operator.

Firefighter killed, 2 hurt in San Antonio blaze

SAN ANTONIO, TX — One firefighter was killed and two others were injured Thursday night while fighting a massive blaze at a San Antonio shopping center. San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood said firefighters entered the Ingram Park Mall to perform search and rescue because there was concern that people were still inside. However, conditions inside the building changed rapidly. Scott Deem, 31, a six-year veteran of the department, died inside the building, Hood said.  While one firefighter was able to make it out, pulled from the ash and smoke was the body of Deem. Deem, a San Antonio native, was expecting his third child with wife, Jennifer.

One killed, three injured when tree is uprooted

SIKESTON, MO — An employee at Green Meadows Retirement Center died tragically and three residents were injured Wednesday when a tree fell at the center. Richard Flye, 41, of Sikeston, was killed when a gust of wind blew over a rotting tree at just before 2:30 p.m. causing it to land on a picnic table at the center where employees and residents usually sit to take breaks.

Volunteer firefighter dies after responding to Botetourt County wreck

Roanoke, VA — A Botetourt County volunteer firefighter died while responding to a wreck in the north part of the county, according to a release from a county official. Virginia State Police Sergeant Richard C. Garletts said in a press release that Roger D. Johns, 63, was killed when he was struck by a fire department vehicle attempting to block the roadway.

Worker dies in fall

Morristown, TN – A 24-year-old worker died from injuries sustained in a fall at an East Morristown construction site Friday afternoon. The man, who has not been publicly identified was working on the roof of the Rockline Industries site, at the former Foamex plant, when he fell approximately 50 feet to the ground below, according to officials.

WV coal miner killed

Pineville, WV — A coal miner was killed late Thursday in Wyoming County, officials confirmed Friday. Luches Rosser, 44, of Man, was killed while he was working at the Pinnacle Mine, an underground operation near Pineville, according to state and federal agencies and the United Mine Workers union, which represents hourly workers at the mine. Rosser is the fourth coal miner to die on the job this year in West Virginia. Three miners died in West Virginia in all of 2016, according to data from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. This year’s total of mining deaths is also greater than the state’s count of two for the entire 2015 calendar year. Seven coal miners have died on the job nationwide so far in 2017, according to MSHA.

University groundskeeper dies after fire involving lawn mower

Lancaster, PA — A longtime Millersville University groundskeeper died after being injured in a fire on campus, university President John Anderson said in an email to faculty, staff and students today. He wrote that Michael L. Keefer, 60, “was on a riding lawn mower near Biemesderfer Stadium when the fire occurred.” He was rushed to Lancaster General Hospital and then transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he died about 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Worker Injured In Explosion At Montgomery Co. Wood Plant Dies

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, N.C. — One of the workers injured in a wood plant explosion in Montgomery County has died, Mohawk Industries announced. The company confirmed Mr. Seedy Bah died around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday from his injuries. The explosion happened at the Unilin Wood Products Plant near Mount Gilead in Montgomery County around 3 p.m. Tuesday. Two workers were taken to the UNC Burn Center in Chapel Hill. Mohawk Industries said the other employee that was injured, Mr. Raymond Thompson, is still receiving care in a trauma center.

OSHA: NH man dies after trench collapses during construction project

ACWORTH, NH — A New Hampshire man died while working construction in Acworth Tuesday afternoon. Christopher Hewey, 37, from Alstead was working a construction project on Bascom Hill Road when a trench he was working in collapsed around 1 p.m. May 16.

Grain death under investigation

WINTHROP, IA — An autopsy has been ordered in the death of an agricultural services worker who died following a grain incident Tuesday afternoon. Details weren’t available, but officials with the Winthrop Fire Department were sent to the Viafield facility on West Madison around 1:50 p.m. Tuesday. Crews administered CPR and transferred the patient to Regional Medical Center in Manchester.

Town worker killed when ATV crashes through side of building

SWEDEN, N.Y.– Authorities are trying to determine what caused an employee for a western New York town to drive an all-terrain vehicle into a building, killing the worker. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says town of Sweden employee Benjamin Levchuk drove the ATV into the side of a pole barn in the town park around 11:45 a.m. Monday. Co-workers say the 19-year-old had gone to the building to get the ATV so he could assist another employee free a stuck lawn mower. When the co-worker went to check on Levchuk he found him still on the vehicle, which was lodged partway through the side of the building.

Pressure washer dies after falling off Tampa dock

TAMPA, Fla.  – Police say a man who was pressure washing a dock near the Tampa Convention Center fell into the water and later died at a hospital. A police news releases says divers recovered 53-year-old Johnnie Norton shortly after he fell and didn’t resurface on Monday morning. The C&W Services worker was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Auto shop worker dies after breathing nitrogen gas

Houston, TX — An employee at a northwest Harris County body shop died Tuesday in what authorities are calling a workplace accident. A coworker found the man’s body shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday night inside the enclosed paint booth at Richey Collision, 12221 Veterans Memorial, Harris County sheriff’s deputies said. The employee, who has not been identified, was wearing an oxygen mask while painting at the body shop. For some reason, he unhooked from the oxygen and stepped away, authorities said. But when he returned to the paint booth, deputies said the man apparently hooked his line into the nitrogen supply rather than oxygen. He lost consciousness and died at the scene, officials said.

Farm worker killed after getting run over in field

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — An Immokalee farm worker is dead after getting run over by a tractor Thursday. Florida Highway Patrol says it happened at 3:25 p.m. Thursday on a tomato farm in the 40,700 block of Ballard Road, outside Myakka City. Troopers say the tractor was backing down an aisle in a tomato field when the driver backed over a woman who was behind the tractor. The victim has been identified as 62-year-old Angelina Mateo of Immokalee.

City worker killed in Columbia Road car crash

Dorchester, MA — A city Department of Public Works employee was killed after a single-car crash near the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road on Thursday night, police said.Police responded to the scene around 7:30 p.m. for preliminary reports that a DPW vehicle struck a pole. The driver was found at the site with life-threatening injuries and later died. Police have not identified the employee and said Friday morning that an investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

Family of Four, Truck Driver Killed in Flaming NC Crash

ROWLAND, NC– Collisions involving three tractor-trailers, including one hauling gasoline, and four other vehicles caused a fire on Interstate 95 on Tuesday and killed the driver of one big rig and the driver, an adult passenger and two children in a pickup truck, the State Highway Patrol said. The truck driver who died was Michael Elliott Bricker, 68, of Myrtle Beach, S.C. The wreck happened about 8 miles north of the North Carolina-South Carolina border in southbound lanes where state Department of Transportation crews were painting new lines on the highway.

Maintenance worker crushed, killed by lawn mower in Northbrook

Northbrook, IL — A maintenance worker was killed when he was pinned underneath a large lawn mower Saturday afternoon at a north suburban country club, the second such incident in the suburbs in just over a week. Richard L. Bowden, 62, was riding a commercial mower on the property of Greenacre Country Club at 916 Dundee Rd. He was cutting grass along an incline on an embankment when the mower tipped over and pinned him underneath, according to a statement from the Village of Northbrook. Bowden, a Deerfield resident, was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:53 p.m., according to the village and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was a contract employee of a landscaper company.

Worker dies after falling from Wilmington warehouse roof

A 44-year-old iron worker fell to his death at the 30100 block of South Ridge Way in Wilmington on Monday morning. Jason Clark, of Bourbonnais, had been working on the roof of a warehouse project before the fall. A 44 year old Bourbonnais Iron Worker fell to his death at approximately 8:30am at a construction site on the 30100 block of South Ridge Way. The Will County Coroner responded to the scene and eventually transported the man to the Coroner’s Office where an autopsy was performed.

Tow truck workers honor fellow driver killed in Highway 99 accident

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) –Tow truck drivers from all over California are making their way back home after paying their respects to a fellow roadside worker killed on the job. A procession of tow truck drivers made their way to the memorial for 58-year-old Baudelio Perez, who went by Angelo. He owned Angelo’s Towing and was helping a stranded motorist on Highway 41 and Highway 99 interchange when he was hit and killed.

Truck Driver Killed

Wenatchee, WA — Miguel Penado, an employee of Pom-Arleau Transfer and Storage Corpwas killed on May 15 when he drove off the road and hit a power pole and the truck burned up. He was carrying a load of cardboard boxes. (Washington State DOSH Report)

Goshen farm worker killed in accident

GOSHEN, NY – A farm worker was killed when a tractor he was operating overturned Friday. Goshen town police Sgt. Allen Faust said the worker, identified as Felipe Garzon, 49, of Pine Island, was driving the tractor inside a food storage bay, a concrete structure with three walls, shortly after 6 p.m. Friday when the accident happened.Faust said the tractor’s front tires came in contact with one of the walls and began to climb the wall, causing the tractor to overturn, pinning Garzon underneath.

By Jordan Barab

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