Firefighter battling SoCal wildfire dies from ‘thermal injuries, smoke inhalation’
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — A firefighter died Thursday while working a colossal wildfire burning in coastal mountains northwest of Los Angeles that has become the fourth largest in California history. Cory Iverson was an engineer with a state fire engine strike team based in San Diego. Iverson, 32, is survived by his pregnant wife and a 2-year-old daughter, said Fire Chief Ken Pimlott of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Iverson had been with the state since 2009. The autopsy showed Iverson died from “thermal injuries and smoke inhalation,” the County of Ventura said. Pimlott did not provide any details about the death but said it was under investigation by an accident review team.
Worker caught in waste grinder at meat processing plant dies
CANTON, OHIO — Investigators say the man killed at a local food-processing plant Saturday was a native of Guatamala living under an assumed name who previously was targeted for deportation. Domingo Alonzo Ramos died when his foot became trapped in an auger at FreshMark, 1600 Harmont Ave. NE, said Rick Walters, investigator for Stark County Coroner Dr. Anthony Bertin. The machine, which grinds meat scraps for garbage, took off his leg. “He screamed, and the other employees were able to stop the machine,” Walters said. They weren’t able to free him, however, and Ramos bled to death, Walters said. Canton Police Capt. David Kurzinsky said preliminary results of the police investigation show Ramos’ death was accidental, although their review continued Wednesday. Ramos, 49, of Winfield Way NE, had been working under the name Samuel Martinez, Walters said.
Man dies after retaining wall collapses in Utah
SANDY, Utah –Unified Police confirm a man was killed Friday after a retaining wall collapsed. According to UPD, a 42-year-old man suffered fatal injuries after the wall collapsed. Police said they received a call for an industrial accident at 2 p.m. Detectives are on scene and investigating near 2800 Ksel Drive in Sandy. Several subcontractors at the scene told police they were working on a retaining wall when the ground gave way, causing the wall to fall and kill the man. Police said they are still working to stabilize the area to make it safe for crews to investigate and to extricate the victim.
AshBritt fire cleanup worker dies in apparent accident at Sonoma County landfill
Petaluma, CA — A truck driver delivering debris from the Sonoma County fire cleanup died Friday evening after he became pinned under his truck tire at the Central Landfill outside Petaluma. The 60-year-old man was a subcontractor for AshBritt Inc., according to multiple sources. His name was not released Saturday night. The incident happened outside the dump area after the worker had made one of the final deliveries of the day and was using controls at the back of his truck to hook up a trailer around 5:30 p.m., said Mike Weihman, battalion chief with Rancho Adobe Fire. The man was the only person around the dump site at the time. It appears the diesel engine turned on and the truck rolled backward, striking the worker as he stood at the rear of the vehicle, Weihman said. The truck came to rest with the man under the left rear tire.
Longtime UPS employee killed after being hit by truck on loading dock
Atlanta, GA — A UPS employee killed after a company truck ran over him Friday afternoon had been with the package delivery service for 17 years, a spokesman said. “UPS is saddened by the loss of a 17-year employee at the company’s facility on Pleasantdale Road in Atlanta,” UPS spokesman Matthew O’Connor said in an emailed statement to The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends.” The 51-year-old man was on a loading dock at the UPS distribution center when he was hit by the truck about 2:15 p.m., DeKalb County police spokeswoman Shiera Campbell told The AJC in an email. He was assigned to unload trailers that were docked at the bay doors. “The victim had stepped off the dock and was standing on the ground between the dock door and the trailer that was being backed into the docking door,” Campbell said. The truck hit the man, who has not been identified, police said. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Workplace accident kills county man
RALEIGH, NC — The death of a Robeson County man at a work site in Aberdeen remains under investigation. Charles Jones, 57, of Shannon, was killed Tuesday afternoon when the wheels of a dump truck rolled over him. The accident is being investigated by the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division. The Aberdeen Police Department received a call shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday from a construction site located at Sandy Springs Road in Aberdeen.
Body recovered after plumber trapped under home in Flower Mound
FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS – A plumber was killed when a soil collapsed onto him after he dug a trench underneath a residence Thursday afternoon. Flower Mound police and fire crews were called to a potential rescue at the home in the 6300 block of Eagle Creek Drive. However, once crews arrived at the scene they were unable to communicate with Christopher Corbet, who was eventually pulled from the trench. Corbet, 45, had worked for Enco Plumbing since 2013, according to owner Eric Neal. Corbet’s family tells WFAA he leaves behind a wife and four children.
Hattiesburg, MS — A 45-year-old man (Paul Anthony Lawnicki) was killed Friday morning after possibly making contact with nearby power lines at a construction site at The District at Midtown. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. on the 2900 block of Hardy Street. Hattiesburg Police Department spokeswoman Lt. Latosha Myers-Mitchell said police are still investigating the incident and provided few other details. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Vt. authorities continue to investigate W. Stewartstown man’s death in Ethan Allen plant accident
BEECHER FALLS, Vt. — While family and friends mourn the late Bruce Biron, Vermont officials continue to investigate how the West Stewartstown man died in an industrial accident at the Ethan Allen furniture plant. Vermont State Police Det. Darren Annis said emergency workers from Vermont and Colebrook were called to the factory at 3:35 p.m. Dec. 13, where Biron, 55, a 25-year employee died while “performing maintenance on machinery within a silo.” Biron suffered unspecified injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
1 dead after power line falls on tree trimmers’ truck in Pinecrest
PINECREST, Fla. – A man is dead after a power line fell on a truck Thursday in Pinecrest, authorities said. Authorities were called to 6282 SW 98 St. and found the man dead. Sky 10 was flying above the charred truck that belonged to the tree trimmers. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said two people inside the truck jumped out and one of them touched the power line.
Truck driver killed in Highway 43 crash Thursday
Fayetteville, AR — Harold Gene Ellis, 58, of Bernice, Okla., was killed on Thursday when the truck he was driving overturned on Arkansas Highway 43, according to the Arkansas State Police. A fatal crash report read two others in another vehicle were injured in the crash. Ellis’ truck overturned just south of the Spavinaw Creek Bridge and slid into the west ditch. The fatal crash report read the weather was clear and the road conditions were considered good at the time of the incident.
Coroner: Construction worker dies after hit by pipe on the job
GREENWOOD, SC (FOX Carolina) – The Greenwood County Coroner’s Office is investigating the death of a construction worker on Tuesday. The coroner said 57-year-old Guadalupe Aguilar Morales was working on a construction site on North Creek Boulevard near Tower Drive when the accident occurred. Morales was working in a ditch while another employee was lowering a large piece of PVC pipe. The coroner said the pipe slipped and struck the victim, who was transported to Self Regional Healthcare. He died at the hospital.
More Worker Fatalities
San Clemente, CA — Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the recent death of a Southern California worker in a fall, one of many deadly such incidents this year. The Division also is investigating three other workplace fatalities, although the work-relatedness of two of the incidents is in question. The fatal fall was in San Clemente, where an employee of 3 Kings Christmas Lighting fell from a second-story roof, suffering major head injuries. He died two days later.
‘It’s devastating.’ Family of warehouse employee shot, killed searching for answers
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Family of a South Fulton warehouse employee shot and killed Tuesday is left wondering why someone would take his life.Around 8:30 Tuesday morning, police said a coworker of Andre Slocum walked into Industrial Solutions off Fulton Industrial Boulevard, said “good morning” and shot the 25-year-old multiple times. They said Slocum had been working at the warehouse for three years as a full time forklift operator. He was a father of a 2-year-old and had another child on the way. He was described by family as a “great person” who was loved dearly.
Penn State Beaver campus mourns employee killed on campus by estranged husband in what police call a murder-suicide
MONACA, Pa. — On the Penn State Beaver campus, final exams were on pause Thursday as students and employees mourned a woman who was killed on campus by her estranged husband in what police called a murder-suicide. Longtime food services cook Lesli Kelly was shot and killed in a campus parking lot by her estranged husband, William Kelly, who then took his own life, Pennsylvania State Police said.
Semi-truck driver killed near Wallace
WALLACE, Idaho – Around 8:45 p.m. Monday night, a man was killed in a single vehicle crash on I-90 near Wallace. Iouri Karlov, 59, of Brooklyn, NY was traveling westbound on I-90 when he lost control of his semi-truck while going too fast for the conditions. The semi rolled onto its passenger side, left the roadway and traveled through approximately 20 feet of guardrail.
House in northeast Harris County collapses, killing 2 workers underneath
Tennessee Valley Authority worker dies after plant accident
WEST PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — A worker at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Shawnee Fossil Plant in Kentucky has died. Scott Brooks with the TVA told The West Kentucky Star that the man was injured in an accident in the rail yard Sunday evening. He died at a hospital Monday. Brooks said the man was an employee at G.UB.MK— a contractor that has worked at TVA plants for several years. Brooks says they will conduct an investigation since the accident took place on TVA property.
Worker who died at Indiana steel mill is identified
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — A steelworker who died Monday at ArcelorMittal’s northwestern Indiana steel mill has been identified as a 61-year-old East Chicago man. Chief Lake County Deputy Coroner Scott Sefton tells The (Northwest Indiana) Times that the cause and manner of Alfred Cadena’s death are pending a standard toxicology test and will not be available for 30 to 45 days. Tom Hargove is president of the United Steelworkers Union Local 1010. He says Cadena was operating a golf cart-style buggy at the Indiana Harbor steel mill in East Chicago when he drove under a stationary scrap trailer for unknown reasons early Monday. Another worker had disconnected a strip of steel Cadena had hauled to that trailer with the buggy when the vehicle suddenly drove under the trailer.
Republic Services employee dies at Bettendorf facility
Bettendorf, IA — A 40-year-old Bettendorf man employed at Republic Services, Bettendorf, was killed Monday evening in a work-related accident, according to a news release from Bettendorf police. The accident, which happened about 5:16 p.m., involved a mechanic working on the hydraulics of a sanitation truck at the facility at 6449 Valley Drive, according to the release. Bettendorf police and Medic EMS responded to the facility. Responders tried life-saving measures but the employee died at the scene from his injuries.
East New York deli worker fatally shot over can of beer
EAST NEW YORK –A deli worker in East New York was shot and killed Tuesday evening over a can of beer. The incident happened around 6:30 p.m. at 797 Deli on Stanley Avenue. Police say a man entered the store and tried to steal a beer. Employee Abdulla Yafaee argued with the man, who later returned and shot Yafaee in the chest, killing the 80-year-old. An arrest has not been made. Friends say Yafaee leaves behind family in New York and in his home country of Yemen. This is the second time in four years that someone was killed in 797 Deli.
1 person fatally pinned between semi, front-end loader in Washington County
Hugo, MN — A man was fatally pinned between a semitrailer truck and a piece of construction equipment Wednesday morning in Hugo, authorities said. The incident involving the semi and a front-end loader occurred about 8:40 a.m. in the 14600 block of Irish Avenue, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The victim was identified as Aaron D. Reich, 36, of Buffalo, Minn.
Fuel truck driver killed in crash with tractor trailer near Canadian border
Chain of Ponds Township, ME — A man driving a Dead River Company fuel truck was killed Monday morning after his vehicle collided with a tractor trailer on a snowy road in Chain of Ponds Township, police said. Gregory Hutchinson, 51, of Carthage, was killed instantly when Jeffrey Lang, 70, of Rumford, lost control of his empty tractor trailer while traveling southbound around 9:30 a.m. Monday on a curve on Route 27, according to Franklin Co. Sheriff’s Department Lt. David Rackliffe. Lang’s trailer slid and jackknifed into the northbound lane. Lang was not injured and walked away from the scene, Rackliffe said.
Log Truck Driver Killed In Early Morning Atmore Crash
Atmore, AL — A log truck driver died in a single vehicle accident in Atmore early Monday morning.The driver of a log truck operated by a Brewton company ran into a wooded area on Byrne Drive, also known as Alto Way, before daylight and was pronounced deceased. The accident damaged or destroyed a utility pole, reportedly leaving nearby manufacturing company Alto Products Corp. without power keeping about 100 or more employees home as Alabama Power worked to make repairs.
Employee shot during Fairfield convenience store robbery dies days later
FAIRFIELD, Ohio — A man shot during a robbery at a Fairfield convenience store where he worked has died, according to police. Karunakar Karengle was working last Monday at the Jiffy Convenience Mart on Camelot Drive, off Dixie Highway, when two men came in with a firearm around 10 p.m., police said. Authorities said Karengle, 53, was shot, then the armed robbers took some money and left.
Pine grove man killed in roll-away truck accident
Pine Grove, CA — A Pine Grove man died on Monday after being struck by his own gravel truck according to the California Highway Patrol. Paul J. Anderson, 50, died after the 2014 Kenworth truck he was trying to load on the board of Burson and Valley Springs rolled forward and subsequently ran him over. Anderson was attempting to load a box from the trailer of the truck into the cabin when the truck began to roll forward. Anderson ran alongside the truck to attempt to regain control. As he was attempting to climb into the truck, he fell to the ground and was run over by the truck. Anderson was laying gravel at the Olive Orchard Subdivision when the accident occurred according to authorities.
Holy cow that is a lot of incidences, these kind of occupational deaths are not reported on nearly enough in the mainstream news. Truly some horrific ends for these poor people who were just trying to make a living and feed their families.