Weekly Toll: Workers Killed on the Job Last Week

Worker killed by fallen tree in Exeter was due to be married in weeks

EXETER, N.H. —A tree worker was killed Friday in Exeter when he was hit by a fallen tree. Keith Hussey, 44, of Rochester, was pronounced dead at the scene on Garrison Lane, according to Exeter police, who responded with firefighters at 11:31 a.m. Friday. Hussey was an employee of Urban Tree Company, police said. He worked there as a foreman for 12 years, according to his obituary. Hussey was due to be married Oct. 13. Instead, a celebration of life in his honor will be held that day in Rochester, the obituary said.

Florida industrial worker dies in fall into asphalt machine

Miami, FL — An industrial worker is dead after falling into an asphalt machine Saturday in West Miami-Dade, reports say.  Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene at around 10:46 a.m. The call was initially for an “extreme fall’ near Northwest 72nd Avenue and 58th Street, fire rescue spokeswoman Lt. Kirsten Miller told the Miami Herald. WSVN reported that detectives are still unsure how the worker fell into the machine. Miami-Dade police did not immediately respond to the Miami Herald’s request for comment.

Ironworker killed at southern Illinois construction site

CENTRALIA, Ill. — An ironworker was killed while working on a construction site at Centralia Junior High School in southern Illinois. Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon said Friday that 32-year-old Matthew Smith of Tilden appeared to have been electrocuted. His death would have been instant.  Cannon said Smith had been using a welder operated by a gas generator. Smith was working with a supervisor at the time of the incident. However, that supervisor left for a few minutes and found a collapsed Smith when he returned. John Schmitt of Iron Workers Union Local 392 says Smith, who had seven years of welding experience, was working with Rockbranch Iron Works on the project.

2 teens arrested in killing of Burien grandmother by stray bullet

BURIEN, Wash. — Two teen boys have been arrested as the suspected gunmen in a shooting that claimed the life of a receptionist at a Burien chiropractic office. Deputies say their two suspects, both 17, opened fire from a car on 152nd Street Wednesday evening, apparently targeting on a 39-year-old man who had just picked up his 15-year-old son on foot from Highline High School, according to Sgt. Ryan Abbott with King County Sheriff’s Office. The bullets missed their targets, but one stray bullet fatally struck 51-year-old Gabriela Reyes Dominguez, who was at the chiropractic clinic.

Westerville man fatally injured in accident at Union County construction site

Westerville, OH — A Westerville man died Thursday after a stack of improperly secured lumber fell on him at a Union County construction site, Union County deputy sheriffs said Friday. Rodney Hickman, 53, was struck in the head and chest by poplar boards that fell off a skid steer in the 7000 block of Hyland Croy Road in Jerome Township at 9:03 a.m., the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Investigators found that several straps securing a bale of 105 boards had failed, the release said. It is unclear why.

Worker killed by falling steel planks on ship docked at N.J. port

Paulsboro, NJ — A 26-year-old New Jersey man working aboard a ship docked in the Delaware River was killed Sunday when two steel planks fell on him, police said. Basim Gilliard, of Pennsauken, was unloading cargo from the ship’s hold at the Port of Paulsboro when the planks dropped from a forklift and struck him around 9:15 a.m., according to New Jersey State Police Trooper Alejandro Goez.

18-Year-Old Man Dies After Getting Trapped in Machinery While Working in Santa Ana

Santa Ana, CA — An 18-year-old man died after getting trapped in machinery in Santa Ana, fire officials said. The incident occurred about 11:15 a.m. at a clay manufacturing company in the 1400 block of East Pomona Street, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The man was working when he got caught in a piece of machinery. About two minutes after the incident, a fellow employee found the victim and tried to get him out, to no avail.

CA Maintenance Worker Dies in Fall

Kearny Mesa, CA – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), has announced the death of a maintenance worker in a fall from an overpass on State Route 163 in the Kearny Mesa area. Caltrans said in a statement that 57-year-old Maintenance Leadworker, William Casdorph, a 19-year veteran with the department, sustained major injuries and died at a local hospital. Local police said that Casdorph and his crew were on southbound SR-163 around 3 am, Wednesday, doing landscaping and street sweeping work when Casdorph fell around 50 feet off the overpass onto a grassy area near the transition road to I-805.

John Elges, retired FDNY firefighter and Long Beach volunteer, dies of 9/11-related illness

Long Beach, NY — John Elges, a retired Long Beach volunteer fire captain and FDNY firefighter, died  Sept. 15 of 9/11-related cancer after a career with three bravery citations for searching for survivors at Ground Zero. Elges, 60, of Littleton, North Carolina, served 24 years with the New York City Fire Department before retiring in 2009. He also spent 17 years as a Long Beach ladder truck captain during that time. FDNY officials confirmed he died of a 9/11 related illness. He was diagnosed in 2015 with throat cancer that later spread to his lungs and brain. Family members said the illness was tied to carcinogens from sifting through the rubble for nine days at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.

Temporary employee shoots 7, kills 4, including self, at Maryland Rite Aid warehouse

Perryman, MD — A temporary employee at a Rite Aid distribution center in Harford County fatally shot three co-workers and injured three others before killing herself Thursday morning, police said. The shooting in Perryman, an unincorporated area of the county near Aberdeen, was one of three to erupt in U.S. workplaces in the space of 24 hours and came less than a year after a gunman killed three fellow employees at another Harford County business. The slain Rite Aid employees were identified Friday as a man and two women: Sunday Aguda, 45, of Dundalk, Md.; and Brindra Giri and Hayleen Reyes, both 41, and both of Baltimore. Authorities said the three surviving victims suffered wounds that are not considered life-threatening.

CHICO COMMUNITY HONORS FALLEN FIRE CAPTAIN

CHICO, Calif. – Chico Fire Captain Ruben “Joe” Joseph Duran died on Sept. 12 following a battle with job-related cancer. Due to the nature of the cancer, the fire department is deeming it a Line of Duty Death. Duran spent almost 30 years as a firefighter with the City of Chico until his health required him to retire in August of 2017. During his time with the department, he rose to the rank of Captain and served as the leader of the Department’s Rescue Team.

Subcontractor working on water main extension killed in accident in Guyton

GUYTON, GA — WJCL 22 News is following a developing story from Guyton where a worker on a county project has been killed. It happened around 2 p.m. Wednesday on Blue Jay Road not far from the intersection with Midland Road. At this point authorities are not identifying the victim or saying what happened but we have learned that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been called in to investigate. Sources tell WJCL that the victim was a subcontractor working on the county’s extension of the water main.

Monro employee killed on job in Mansfield, Ohio

MANSFIELD, Ohio — An employee at a Monro Muffler Brake & Service outlet in Mansfield was killed in a workplace accident, according to the Richland County Coroner’s Office. Charles Thompson, 31, died around noon Sept. 18 at the store, according to coroner’s investigator Tom Stortz. The coroner’s office was withholding any information about the fatal accident pending the results of the autopsy, Mr. Stortz said. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our teammate as the result of an accident,” Monro Inc. said in an official statement. Monro is cooperating fully with the investigation, the company said. Monro also said it was conducting its own internal investigation. “We are committed to the safety and well-being of our employees, and extend our thoughts and prayers to our employee’s family and friends,” it said.

Sanitation worker dies from injuries suffered in crash with pickup

COLUMBIA TWP, MI – A sanitation worker has died from injuries he suffered in a crash Tuesday in Columbia Township. Justin David Pratt, 27, of Jackson died late Sept. 18, after being struck earlier that day on the job, Columbia Township police said. Pratt was working from a Modern Waste refuse truck that was struck about 7:49 a.m. Tuesday by a 1997 Ford F-150 pickup on Riverside Road, east of McKinney Road, and about a half-mile west of M-50, police said. The refuse truck was traveling east on Riverside Road, making stops to dump trash from garbage carts into the back of the truck, police said. While stopped, and with its warning lights on, the refuse truck was struck from behind by the pickup, which was pulling a pop-up camper, they said.  Pratt was pinned between the vehicles, police said. He was taken to Henry Ford Allegiance Health in critical condition, they said.

Man dies in Effingham construction accident

Statesboro, SC — A Statesboro man died while unloading water pipe in Effingham County Sept. 19. Coroner David Exley said Jeffrey Lamar Wolfe, 43, was on a flat-bed truck, starting to unload water pipe that was being installed underground along Blue Jay Road when the load apparently shifted. He fell from the truck and hit his head on the road, dying at the scene.

Coroner IDs employee killed in Little Woods robbery

New Orleans, LA — The Orleans Parish Coroner’s office has identified the 58-year-old man killed early Tuesday morning (Sept. 18) while working at a Little Woods gas station as Olah Bessid. Bessid was behind the counter of the Fuel Express Mart at 7220 Hayne Boulevard when two men entered the store in a robbery attempt. Both police and the store’s owner confirmed that the shooting occurred during a robbery. At some point, the duo rang off multiple shots at Bessid, leaving him behind the counter suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. NOPD responded to the shooting around 1:20 a.m. Bessid was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS.

Deputy killed, second wounded in Northern California

Rancho Cordova, CA — A 38-year-old man on probation for a gun crime has been accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy and wounding another in a shootout that started with an argument at an auto parts store in the Sacramento area, authorities said Tuesday. Deputies responded to a report of a dispute between a customer and an employee at a Pep Boys in Rancho Cordova in a “routine call” that gave no indication the customer had a gun, Sheriff Scott Jones said. “As soon as they arrived and engaged the subject, he turned as if to run or flee and then immediately turned around and started firing without warning,” the sheriff said. Deputy Mark Stasyuk, 27, was shot in the upper body and killed. Deputy Julie Robertson, 28, was hit in the arm but shot back as the attacker fled.

Mount Pleasant Public Works employee dies after being hit by car while on the job

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. (CBS 58) — Friends and neighbors are remembering Dan Huck as a beloved family man, employee, and neighbor. “He just became a grandfather this July and he was very proud about that,” said Mary Siuta, who lived across the street from Huck for decades. “I feel very sad that he’s not going to get a chance to see this granddaughter because it was a big event for him in his life.” Siuta also says Huck would shovel snow off the sidewalks for the people around him, and mowed the grass of an elderly neighbor. Chief Tim Zarzecki of the Mount Pleasant Police Department says Huck was wearing a reflective vest and his vehicle’s flashers were on when he stepped into the road Monday and was struck by a car. “The driver of the vehicle’s been very cooperative,” Zarzecki said. “It was a sudden incident and quite shocking for all involved.”

Construction worker killed in San Rafael accident