Either fewer workers were killed Thanksgiving week (because fewer were working) or fewer reporters reported on workplace fatalities (because fewer were working). How workers died last week: falls, shootings, electrocution, and vehicle and machinery 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.
Worker dies after falling down elevator shaft at Philadelphia warehouse
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Authorities say a man fell to his death while working inside an elevator shaft at a Philadelphia warehouse Friday morning. The tragic accident happened around 10:30 a.m. at a building on the 200 block of Wolf Street. Police say the 48-year-old worker plummeted 20-feet down the elevator shaft and suffered fatal trauma to the head. Authorities have not publicly identified the man who died.
Worker dead after falling from roof of South Buffalo building
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A roofer is dead after falling from a building they were working on Thursday in South Buffalo, Buffalo police officials said. The worker fell from the roof of St. John’s Parkside, an early childhood center, and was declared deceased at the scene just before 1 p.m., according to officials.
OSHA investigating workplace death
HURON, South Dakota — U.S. Department of Labor officials are investigating a workplace death in Huron. An OSHA spokesperson said in a statement to KELOLAND News that an investigation has been opened with Protective Coating Specialists. While they weren’t able to give any details about the incident, the OSHA representative says the worker died on November 21. OSHA has six months to complete the investigation. According to the company’s website, Protective Coating Specialists cleans and powder coats machinery parts, serving a number of industries including agriculture and construction.
Semi-truck driver dies after truck slides off bridge into a river in multiple vehicle pile-up
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — According to the Oklahoma City Fire Department, a deadly multiple-vehicle crash happened early Sunday morning around 1 am, leaving a semi-truck driver dead. The department said the semi-truck slid, went off a bridge, and into the river below, adding that they were able to remove the driver. Semi-truck driver dies after truck slides off bridge into a river in multiple vehicle pile-up OKCFD said an excavator was used. They also said the crash left multiple people injured.
Deputies release new details on shooting that killed car wash employee in Tamarac
TAMARAC, Fla. – Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives identified a suspect Wednesday who they accused of shooting and killing his co-worker at a car wash in Tamarac Tuesday afternoon. BSO deputies said 911 dispatchers responded to a shooting call just before 2 p.m. at the Tamarac Commerce Center, located near the 6000 block of Nob Hill Road. Upon their arrival, deputies said they located a man suffering from a gunshot wound. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue paramedics transported him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities. Deputies quickly established a perimeter, where investigators located the shooter, whom detectives identified as 37-year-old Damion Dawkins, and took him into custody. Investigators said the incident involved three employees who worked at the car wash. One female employee claimed that she was being harassed by another man who worked at the car wash. Moments after the woman was sent home because she didn’t feel safe, the victim was allegedly gunned down by Dawkins, according to detectives.
Man dies in apparent work accident on roof of department store, police say
BEAUFORT, S.C. – The Beaufort Police Department says a man died after a work accident Tuesday. Officers responded to the TJ Maxx on Robert Smalls Parkway just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday for an unconscious person on the roof. When they arrived they found a 52-year-old man dead from injuries sustained in a work accident, Deputy Chief Stephenie Price said. Investigators said they found no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
Man killed in workplace incident in Moundville identified
HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) — On Tuesday, a 65-year-old man was killed after an incident at an industrial facility. According to Moundville Police Chief Toby Banks, the man was fatally injured at Ballard Concrete on Lavender Hill Road around 11 a.m. when, while using an overhead crane, a shipping container fell from the crane onto the victim. According to Banks, the chain on the crane broke as the employees were picking up the container. Moundville Police identified the victim as Cornell James.
Tree trimmer electrocuted in tree in Cheviot Hills
Cheviot Hills, CA — A tree trimmer was found electrocuted to death in a tree in Cheviot Hills on Tuesday, according to fire officials. Firefighters were initially dispatched for a rescue after reports of an unresponsive male, around 30 years old, stuck in a 20- to 25-foot tree and suffering from electrocution, apparently from coming in contact with a power line. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power shut off the power lines as firefighters climbed a ladder to reach the man to provide medical assistance. But fire officials said that the man was beyond medical help and that he died at the scene. Firefighters shifted from rescue efforts to recovering his body.
Iowa Fareway employee killed in Monticello shooting, suspect later shot by deputy
Montecello, IA — An officer has been placed on leave after shooting a man accused of killing a grocery store employee on Tuesday night in Monticello, authorities said. Monticello Police Department officers were dispatched to a Fareway Meat and Grocery, 420 North Farley St., in Monticello after receiving a report about a man being shot at about 7:30 a.m., Chief Britt D. Smith said in a news release. The employee who was shot was identified as Aaron McAtee, 48, of Monticello, Smith said. McAtee was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where he later died. Nathan Russell, 38, of East Dubuque, Illinois, was identified as a person of interest during the investigation, Smith said. A Delaware County deputy found Russell in Hopkinton.
17-year-old employee dies after shooting at Rally’s in Hampton
HAMPTON, Va. — A 17-year-old employee has died after getting shot during a fight at a Rally’s Drive-In in Hampton Wednesday evening, authorities said. At around 5:30 p.m., the Hampton Police Division said officers were called to the shooting in the 1000 block of West Mercury Boulevard near North Armistead Avenue. Police said a physical altercation broke out between the teenage boy and an unknown male, who brandished a firearm and shot the teen. The maiming suspect left before officers arrived at the scene. 17-year-old Brian Fullerton’s life was cut short when a fight broke out at his workplace on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving. The teen was shot at the restaurant and died from his injuries at a hospital, according to news reports and the Hampton Police Division.
One victim in double homicide outside Anchorage Walmart was an employee on break
Anchorage, AK — A store employee on break was among two people shot to death outside the Dimond Walmart in Anchorage on Sunday night, a company spokesperson said. The shooting happened at the bustling store adjacent to the Dimond Center mall Sunday evening, days before Thanksgiving. Police said a man and woman died of their injuries in the parking lot, just outside the entrance. As of Monday afternoon, the Anchorage Police Department has said little about the circumstances of the double homicide in a busy public place. Police on Sunday said they believe the killings were an “isolated incident” and that an investigation was underway.
Truck driver killed in crash involving freight train on South Side ID’d
CHICAGO, IL — A truck driver was killed in a crash involving a freight train Monday morning. The crash happened just before 7 a.m. at Norfolk and Southern rail yard at 350 West Garfield Boulevard on the city’s South Side. According to officials, the freight train struck a semi-truck that was stopped on the tracks. Fire officials have confirmed the truck driver was killed. The medical examiner has identified him as 29-year-old Delontae Fairman. Skycam9 captured the recovery effort by emergency crews on the scene.