How workers died last week. Helicopter crash, drownings, hit by falling debris, falls, forklifts, payloaders, vehicle incidents, murdered by an employee. 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.
Flags to fly at half-staff in honor of 3 killed in medical helicopter crash
Jackson, MS — The University of Mississippi Medical Center confirmed that a medical helicopter crash and no patients were on board, and that the victims were two crew members and a pilot. Their families were being contacted, the medical center said. The aircraft was a Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter, which crashed into a wooded area around 1:15 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Authority said in a statement. It was owned and operated by Med-Trans, UMMC said. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves released a statement on X saying, “It’s a tragic reminder of the risks Mississippi’s first responders take every day to keep us safe. Our state will never forget the sacrifice of these heroes.” “Mississippi mourns the loss of three heroes: Jakob Kindt, Dustin Pope, and Cal Wesolowski,” Reeves said in a statement. “We will never forget the brave sacrifices these first responders made in selfless service to our state.” Kindt, 37, of Tupelo, was a critical care paramedic. Pope, 35, a flight nurse from Philadelphia, was the base supervisor for AirCare in Columbus. Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville, had been a pilot for 35 years. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
Crestwood trucking CEO killed in alleged back-pay murder
Crestwood, IL — Beloved Crestwood trucking company CEO was murdered earlier this month by one of his employees. Dane Koteski, 46, was murdered on March 5 at the offices of his trucking company ATG Truckload in Crestwood, Ill. Prosecutors announced on Sunday that they were charging one of Koteski’s long-term employees, Josif Suclea, 53, with first-degree murder after gathering evidence and conducting employee interviews. Court records lay out an alleged back-pay murder plot against Koteski. Cook County EMS firefighters were called out to the ATG Truckload offices on South Kostner Avenue shortly after 4 p.m. on March 5 to reports of a fire in the building. Firefighters said they put out a small fire, a three-ring binder that was burning, and then they discovered the body of Koteski “lying face down in a pool of blood.” The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office would later determine Koteski’s throat had been slashed. But Cook County court records show investigators quickly zeroed in on employee Suclea as a prime suspect.
Employee Killed in City Parking Lot Accident
Cumming, GA – City officials in Cumming, Ga., said a city employee was killed when they were struck by a car in a city-owned parking lot. Cumming officials said Crystal Sawyer, 44, was an inventory clerk for the city’s utilities distribution and collection division. Officials said she was hit in the parking lot of the city’s water facilities. Officials said on Monday, March 10, Sawyer was hit by a truck in the parking lot. She was declared dead at the scene. Police are investigating the accident, the city said. Sawyer had been a city employee with the utilities building division in the Cumming City Hall. Since September 202. In June 2023, she was transferred to the utilities distribution and collection division headquarters on the Dahlonega Highway. The city ordered flags flown at half-mast between March 17 and 22 in honor of Sawyer.
Worker killed after lethal fall in a warehouse
Memphis, TN – A worker is dead after an apparent fall from a warehouse. Officials with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said the employee fell on Wednesday, March 12 in the afternoon. Police said they were called to the Lineage Distribution Center for an injured employee. Officials said the employee was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the sheriff’s office, preliminary reports indicate the worker’s fall was accidental. The medical examiner was called to the scene and is investigating the death, police said. No information was given what the man was doing or how he fell. Officials said the death is still under investigation.
Employee killed in ancient with Payloader
North Lawrence, NY – An employee is dead after an accident with a payloader. Officials said they are investigating the death of a Bellport man who died of injuries he sustained when a payloader driven by a fellow worker hit him. The accident happened on Monday, March 10. The death is being investigated by homicide detectives. According to officials, around 9 a.m., a 33-year-old man was working at the mason yard on Johnson Road operating a large payloader. The vehicle struck his co-worker, Michael Porter, 54, of Bellport. Police said after they arrived on the scene, Porter was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Company officials declined to give a statement to local media outlets. No indication was given as to the cause of Porter’s death or if any charges had been filed against the co-worker. Police didn’t address why the death was being investigated by homicide detectives either. Nassau Police did say the incident remains under investigation.
Worker killed in Forklift Accident
Appleton, WI – A Wisconsin company confirmed that an employee died on Wednesday as a result of a “workplace accident.” Officials with Progressive Converting, also known as ProCon, said the accident occurred at the company’s Glendale Avenue location. “Our primary concern at this time is to ensure that the needs and well-being of the family of the affected employee are met,” the company said in a statement. “Additionally, we are working closely to ensure that we provide the correct care and support for all of our employees in the region. ProCon is working closely with all local, state, and federal agencies to fully investigate the incident. Since this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further on the details involved. A spokesperson with the Appleton Area OSHA office said an investigation had been opened into a forklift-related accident at the company. Outagamie County’s coroner, Douglas Bartelt, identified the individual as Jean Ndakebuka, who was pronounced dead at the scene
Schuylkill man fatally injured in industrial accident at Berks battery factory
Schuylkill County, PA – A worker at East Penn Manufacturing Inc. was fatally injured Tuesday after he was reportedly pinned between metal pallets that had fallen onto him at the Richmond Township battery plant, authorities said. Stephen Rapp, 48, of South Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, was pronounced dead at 8:41 p.m. in the emergency department at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, said Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio. An autopsy done Wednesday determined Rapp died of mechanical asphyxia, and the death was ruled accidental, Buglio said. The industrial accident happened at 7:49 p.m. at the plant on Deka Road near Lyons. Fleetwood police, who cover Richmond Township, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating. A U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson said the agency has six months to investigate and release its findings. Further details were not immediately available.
Employee hit and killed by falling debris on job site
Winona, TX – An employee died Friday afternoon after a workplace accident at Howell Club Lake in Winona, according to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office. Spokesperson Larry Christian said a piece of equipment fell on the worker, causing fatal injuries. Emergency crews, including EMS and firefighters, responded to the scene after a call came in around 12:40 p.m. Officials said the justice of the peace will be notified to conduct an inquest. No further details were immediately available.
Trucking company employee Body found in Elk River landfill
Elk River, MI – Police found an employee’s body who was reported missing. The employee worked for a trucking company and was delivering waste to the landfill, according to a news release from police. The man found dead at the Elk River Landfill has been identified as a 63-year-old Little Falls man. He was reportedly delivering a load to the landfill at 225th Avenue Northwest and Highway 169 when his vehicle was found unoccupied, according to Elk River Police Capt. Joe Gacke. When someone at the landfill noticed his truck sitting empty but no one around, a call was made to 911 to report the driver missing, Gacke said. Police reportedly found the man partially buried in the landfill. They say no foul play is suspected. Police are working with the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.
Plumber dies after tunnel collapses, trapping him under home he was working on
Kenner, LA – A plumber in Louisiana died Friday after becoming trapped under a home. According to Kenner police, the man was working with a crew from Peterson Plumbing, which began digging the tunnel a day earlier, at a home on Kentucky Avenue when a tunnel collapsed. Fire officials said the passage stretched about 60 feet before it caved in, leaving the worker trapped four feet underground. Emergency crews worked for over an hour and a half to free him. Firefighters also pumped fresh air into the collapsed tunnel in an attempt to help, but he did not survive. Authorities have not released the plumber’s identity. Officials said the home is not at risk of collapsing despite the tunnel beneath it.
Semi-truck driver killed, passenger seriously injured in Tooele County crash
Dugway, UT — A semi-truck driver was killed and his passenger seriously injured when their vehicle overturned on a Tooele County highway. The Utah Department of Public Safety said the incident occurred just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, as a blue semi hauling a box trailer was traveling eastbound on I-80 near milepost 78 in Dugway. Officials believe high winds caused the truck to tip onto its left side in the median. The driver, 43-year-old Ruben Sepulveda of Clyde, North Carolina, was killed on impact. The passenger, a woman whose identity has not been released, was transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition.
Third New Orleans firefighter to die in three weeks
New Orleans, LA — A longtime New Orleans firefighter was killed early Thursday morning in a crash on Interstate 10 westbound in Ascension Parish, marking the third NOFD firefighter to die in the past three weeks. According to Louisiana State Police, 41-year-old Dwayne Jackson was driving a 2006 Nissan Titan westbound near mile marker 170 around 1:30 a.m. when his truck collided with the back of a Freightliner tractor-trailer. Investigators say the tractor-trailer was “attempting to enter the roadway from the right shoulder.” Police say Jackson was not wearing a seatbelt. He suffered severe injuries and was taken to the hospital, where he later died. The driver of the Freightliner, who was wearing a seatbelt, was not injured. This crash is still under investigation.
Worker Dies in Accidental Fall at Arlington’s Lineage Distribution Center, Investigation Underway
Shelby County, TN — An employee died after a tragedy at an Arlington warehouse yesterday afternoon. According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred at the Lineage Distribution Center at approximately 1:48 p.m., where the worker was pronounced dead upon the arrival of emergency services. The Arlington Fire Department responded to the call and declared the man dead at the scene, however, the circumstances that led to this fatal incident were not detailed, the authority’s preliminary findings suggest the fall was accidental. Meanwhile, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the medical examiner has attended the location in order to ascertain the precise cause of death, and law enforcement is currently investigating the full scope of events that transpired within the warehouse, which is part of a facility specializing in cold storage and transportation for the global food supply chain, as per Lineage’s description. Despite the initial assessment of the fall as accidental, the detailed circumstances and any potential safety concerns within the warehouse are still under review., “The incident is still under investigation,” the Sheriff’s Office stated in a report shared by FOX13 Memphis.
I think you probably mean Jackson, MS and not Jackson, MI.
Thanks. Fixed.
The Arlington, VA location is incorrect, it’s in Shelby County which is in TN.
Thanks. Fixed.