Last week workers were killed in explosions, fires, lightning, falls, building collapses, forklift incidents, shootings and vehicle incidents. On average, over 100 workers are killed every week in the United States due to traumatic injuries suffered at work. More than 20 times as many die from occupational diseases, many due to exposure to hazardous substances many years before they died. The few narratives below (gathered from almost 100 Google News searches) do not come close to capturing the full toll that work takes on the working people of this country. Nevertheless the accounts below gave you a taste of the preventable carnage occurring in workplaces across the country every day.
Man killed in Delano District industrial accident
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A man has been killed in an industrial accident in the Delano District Sunday evening. According to Wichita Police Department Sergeant John Ryan, they received a call just after 6 p.m. for the report of the accident in the 200 block of N Osage St. Upon arrival, they found a man in his 80s pinned between a forklift and equipment. “Fire and EMS came, and Fire was able to quickly free him, and EMS worked on him for quite a while, but then he was pronounced deceased,” Ryan said. Ryan said it happened at a place where people store heavy equipment. “One of the owners was unloading a heavy piece of equipment,” Ryan said. “The equipment began to shift, they went to move to keep the equipment from falling completely off of the trailer, and unfortunately, the individual that owned the equipment was caught between the equipment and some other property.” The victim was a man in his 80s. Wichita Police say that no foul play is suspected; it was just a tragic accident.
Worker dies in powered haulage accident at mining site, investigators say
HANNIBAL, Mo. (WGEM/Gray News) – A miner has died after the truck they were driving overturned while working at a surface mining site in Missouri. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the haul truck the worker was operating backed through a berm on top of a stockpile, overturned and landed on its roof. Officials with the Riverstone Group confirmed the worker’s death which occurred Monday afternoon. MSHA said its team is investigating the fatality while classifying it as a powered haulage accident. So far this year, nine miners have been killed and 185 have been injured in accidents involving powered haulage equipment, according to government officials.
Florida roofer killed by lightning strike in front of co-workers, found with sock melted to foot
Deltona, FL — A Florida roofer was killed by a lightning strike in front of his co-workers while on a job — and was found with one of his socks melted to his foot. Edvin Cinto, 24, was working on a roof on a home on Sterling Point Drive in Deltona on Monday when he was struck by the bolt, WKMG reported. Witnesses called 911 after the harrowing incident. “Someone has fallen from the roof and I think he’s unconscious,” one caller said, according to the outlet. “They’re saying he was struck by lightning.” Another said: “They’re saying he’s not breathing, but he has a pulse, I guess.” Cinto smelled like burned hair and one sock was melted to his foot when first responders arrived, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office told Fox 35.
21-year-old among 2 dead in storm-related building collapse in Conroe
CONROE, Texas (KTRK) — Severe storms sprang up Tuesday afternoon, snapping power lines and tree limbs, and causing a deadly building collapse in Conroe. The collapse happened at a construction site in Conroe’s new Ladera Creek community. Subcontractors were building a two-story home that has now been flattened. Two men were killed and seven were hurt when it came down. The collapse happened during a storm that steamrolled its way through the area at about 4 p.m. Relatives told Eyewitness News that the workers noticed the weather was turning bad. They started packing up their tools to leave, but the storm hit hard and fast. The half-constructed house came down on top of the workers, sending seven to local hospitals. Family identified one of the two killed as Brayan Rubi Lopez Aguilar.
1 dead, 1 injured in Hidalgo County backhoe accident
HIDALGO COUNTY, Texas — An Hidalgo County employee was killed and another one was injured on Tuesday morning when a backhoe operator lost control of his machinery and killed a co-worker, according to Sheriff J.E. Eddie Guerra. Armando Hernandez, a maintenance crew member, was killed while working along a levee when a backhoe being used fell down the embankment, killing him and injuring one other employee. The accident happened at 11:43 a.m. north of Mile 4 North on Midway Road along a drainage canal. Both men were employees of Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1. The area is near Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area, south of Weslaco and Donna. The two men were working along a levee area as part of preparations for hurricane season, said Raul Sesin, the General Manager of the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1.
Family Dollar worker killed during armed robbery in Goldsboro; 2 suspects captured, police say
GOLDSBORO, N.C. — A Family Dollar worker was shot and killed during an armed robbery Sunday afternoon in Goldsboro, police said. The incident was reported around 3:15 p.m. at the Family Dollar at 1403 Wayne Memorial Drive, according to a news release from the Goldsboro Police Department. “Responding officers were advised that two men came into the business and shot the victim during the robbery,” the news release said. The victim, identified as Alexander Thomas, 46, was found by officers behind the cash register suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest, police said Thomas was taken to UNC Health Wayne, where he died.
1 Killed in Semi-Truck Crash on I-20 in Kaufman County
Kaufman County, Texas – One person was killed Friday afternoon in a semi-truck crash in Kaufman County, according to the police. The fatal crash happened around 3:15 p.m., May 26, on I-20 near County Road 130, west of Terrell. Police said a westbound semi-truck had stopped due to a previous crash. Due to the heavy traffic, a truck struck a pick-up truck hauling a trailer. While the vehicles were stopped, a second truck-tractor collided into the first one. The driver of the second semi-truck was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim’s identity has not been released. The crash remains under investigation.
Firefighter dies after becoming trapped in Columbia apartment blaze
COLUMBIA, SC — A firefighter died from his injuries after being rescued from a burning apartment building that collapsed on him and six others battling the blaze. James Michael Muller, a 25-year-old Irmo firefighter, was pronounced dead at an area hospital on May 26, according to Columbia-Richland Fire Department Chief Aubrey Jenkins. The first Irmo firefighter to die in the line of duty in more than 20 years, Muller was the subject of tributes from across the state as word of his death spread. Muller was one of three firefighters who became trapped and had to be rescued when the burning structure collapsed at the Tropical Ridge Apartments in the western St. Andrews area of Columbia, Jenkins said
Log truck driver killed in Pitt County crash
PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – The driver of a log truck was killed after his truck flipped over on a Pitt County highway this morning. The crash happened around 9:20 a.m. on Highway 30 near Satterwaite Road, north of Pactolus. Troopers say the log truck was the only vehicle involved in the crash. Troopers said the truck driver was not wearing a seat belt. Troopers said the truck driver was not wearing a seat belt. The Highway Patrol said the truck ran off the right side of the highway, the driver overcorrected and the truck overturned and collided with a ditch. The man was not wearing a seat belt, according to troopers.
Firefighter dies after tanker truck rolls over en route to barn fire
RANDOLPH COUNTY, Ind. — The assistant chief of the Farmland Volunteer Fire Department has died after rolling a tanker truck while en route to a barn fire in rural Randolph County. A second firefighter is in critical condition. According to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), Assistant Chief Kyle T. Osgood, 29, was en route to a barn fire early Thursday morning before the deadly accident. Osgood was reportedly driving the tanker truck northbound on 1000 West when he approached an S-curve and rolled the truck over. The tanker reportedly came to rest on top of Osgood and a fellow Farmland Volunteer Firefighter. Osgood was pronounced dead on the scene at 6:30 a.m.
Landscaper fatally electrocuted in northwest Miami-Dade
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A man was fatally electrocuted Thursday afternoon in the Golden Glades area of northwest Miami-Dade, officials said. Neighbors on Northwest 140th Terrace told Local 10 News the victim was a landscaper who was working on a tree and hit a power line. First responders from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the Miami-Dade Police Department were at the scene.
Woman dies from injuries sustained in White Lake propane explosion
WHITE LAKE, NC (WWAY) — A woman has died from injuries sustained in an explosion in White Lake Monday afternoon. Two people and a dog were injured in a propane explosion occurring in the Camp Clearwater Campground as they were filling a propane cylinder. A 58-year-old White Lake woman was transported to the hospital but died. A 49-year-old Riegelwood man and his dog were treated and released. The N.C. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety Division has opened an inspection into the fatality.
Worker who drowned at Fresno-area poultry plant remembered as ‘a great human being’
Sanger, CA — About two weeks after poultry plant worker Jesus “Chuy” Salazar died in a workplace accident, family and friends are mourning the loss of their colleague, father and grandfather. Salazar, 66, of the Fresno County city of Sanger, died on the morning of May 7 while working at Pitman Family Farms. That morning, according to a Sanger Police report obtained by The Bee, Salazar was assigned to check pipes around an indoor poultry waste pit — a 14-foot-wide, 18-foot-long and 18- to 25-foot-deep rectangular structure containing a mixture of chicken feathers, remains, waste, fat and water. When a fellow employee noticed Salazar went missing, a Pitman supervisor called the police, concerned that Salazar had fallen into the pit and died, the report said. Police who responded to the scene said they saw in the pit, “a set of boots with the toes pointed upwards.” The Fresno County Coroner’s Office said in an email statement to The Bee that Salazar’s cause of death was drowning.
Man shot, killed while doing landscaping work in Corryville, company says
CINCINNATI, OH — A man is dead after being shot while doing landscaping work in Corryville, according to police and a company representative. According to the coroner, the man who died is Nicholas Kernan, 43, of Cincinnati.The shooting happened shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday in a driveway alley in the 2900 block of Bellevue Avenue.vAccording to Lt. John Cunningham, officers on the scene found a victim with a gunshot wound. He was taken to UC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. According to a company representative with Uptown Properties, a property management company in Cincinnati, the man killed was an employee doing landscaping work when he was attacked.
70-year-old worker dies after being hit by vehicle in Ingham County
INGHAM COUNTY, MI – A construction worker was killed after he was hit by a vehicle in Ingham County. According to the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, the man was directing traffic within a work zone on East Grand River Avenue near North M-52 in Leroy Township, just west of Webberville, shortly before 2 p.m. on Thursday. Deputies say an eastbound vehicle struck 70-year-old James Edward Lockwood, causing severe injuries. The man was working for a subcontractor on the job.
Murfreesboro truck driver killed in Daisy accident
Daisy, AR — A Murfreesboro man died Wednesday morning in a one-vehicle accident involving an 18-wheeler. William H. Cox, 76, of Murfreesboro, was traveling eastbound in a 1996 International on U.S. Highway 70 east of Daisy when the vehicle exited the right shoulder and overcorrected, according to a preliminary fatal crash summary filed by Arkansas State Police. The truck crossed both lanes, overturning on its passenger side as it entered the opposite lane facing west. The report states the vehicle struck a resident’s carport. Cox was transported to UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, where he was pronounced deceased.
‘We lost someone special’: 50-year-old security guard killed at Hookah lounge remembered
PHOENIX, AZ — A work shift turned deadly for Nixon Petit. The 50-year-old was a security guard at the Montana Hookah Lounge near 27th and Northern avenues when he was shot and killed early Saturday morning. “We lost someone special to us,” said Bernice Petit. Nixon Petit had been working as a security guard outside the front entrance. Part of his job was to pat down customers for weapons before they entered the club. A witness told police a man attempted to bypass security and enter the building without the security pat down. That’s when the 50-year-old and another employee moved to block the suspect from entering the club and an argument ensued. Nixon Petit attempted to defuse and de-escalate the situation, but the suspect remained argumentative and aggressive, a witness told police. At some point during the argument, the security guard began to physically struggle with the suspect and attempted to control him, records said. Court documents said a gunshot was heard while the two men struggled, and Petit fell to the ground
Security guard killed in shooting outside Knoxville nightclub, KPD says
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Officers with the Knoxville Police Department were called to a shooting just after 4:00 A.M. Saturday morning at The Kave located at 2131 E. Magnolia near Olive Street in East Knoxville. Police said when officers arrived they found multiple shots were fired outside of The Kave. One man, 25-year-old Adrian Roebuck, was found in the parking lot suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to police. Roebuck was an armed security guard who was employed by the nightclub.
Driver dies after fuel tanker truck crashes into tree outside Lyons, Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. — The driver of a fuel tanker truck died Tuesday after crashing outside of the town of Lyons, Oregon, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies received a 911 call at about 10:40 a.m. reporting that a tanker truck crashed at the 4600 block of Lyons-Mill City Drive. While en-route, they learned that there had been explosions. Initial reports state that Steven Froemke, 63, of Lebanon, was driving a 2000 Kenworth Carson Oil tanker east and missed a corner, leaving the roadway and crashing into a tree. Froemke was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘We’re angry and we’re sad’: Uptown Rental Properties groundskeeper killed on the job in Corryville
CINCINNATI, OH — Uptown Rental Properties said they’re working with Crimestoppers to offer a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction after one of their employees was killed while working in Corryville. Cincinnati police said a 43-year-old man was shot around 3 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Bellevue Avenue and Donahue Street. He was taken to UC Medical Center where he later died. The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Nicholas Kernan.
Kentucky deputy shot, killed during traffic stop; suspect identified
Georgetown, KY — A Scott County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Monday afternoon, Scott County Sheriff Tony Hampton announced Monday night. According to the sheriff, Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Conley was shot during a traffic stop at around 4:48 p.m. Monday on I-75 southbound in Georgetown. Someone called in to report that a deputy had been shot, and responders arrived relatively quickly, Sheriff Tony Hampton said. He did not know why the vehicle was pulled over.
Worker dies in ATV accident in Maplewood park
Maplewood Park, MN — A 26-year-old working on a controlled burn in a park in Maplewood died Monday in an ATV accident, according to the Ramsey County sheriff’s office. Deputies responded about 3:45 p.m. to the Fish Creek Natural Area trailhead just off Interstate 494 and near Henry Lane. They’d received a report of a man trapped under an all-terrain vehicle. Samuel H. Sylvester, of Lino Lakes, was pronounced dead. Sylvester was apparently an employee of Native Resource Preservation, which Ramsey County Parks and Recreation contracted with for a controlled burn in the park, said Steve Linders, a sheriff’s office spokesman.
Troopers Identify Truck Driver Killed In I-95 Rollover Crash
Elkton, MD — Maryland State Police are investigating a fatal single-vehicle crash involving a tractor-trailer. Officials said the driver of the tractor-trailer, identified as Anthony Borden, 55, of Tuscumbia, Alabama, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Shortly after 5:30 a.m., troopers from the Maryland State Police JFK Memorial Highway Barrack received a report of a single-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of I-95, near Elkton. Preliminary investigations suggest that Borden, who was traveling north on I-95, suddenly swerved to the left for unknown reasons, colliding with the guardrail and causing the tractor-trailer to overturn.
Truck driver killed when Freightliner leaves road, hits tree
WILKINSON COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – A truck driver was killed Saturday when their vehicle left the road and hit a tree. It happened Saturday around 3:30 p.m. on US-61 in Wilkinson County. According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the 2017 Freightliner Tractor Truck driven by Demarcus Coleman, 30, of Arkansas, was traveling north when it left the road and collided with a tree. Coleman received fatal injuries from the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene.