How workers died last week. 19 story fall, trapped in an auger, crushed by a forklift, tree care, vehicle incidents, shot, and stabbed. 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.
One person dead after incident at Hyundai Metaplant
Bryan County, GA — A plant worker died in a forklift accident at the Hyundai battery joint venture meta site after a forklift apparently struck a worker. Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) has confirmed the fatality writing that “Around 4:45 p.m. today, an incident occurred at the battery joint venture property on the megasite. The initial indication is that a forklift struck a worker, resulting in fatal injuries to the male victim. The incident is under investigation.” Monday, Bryan County’s Deputy Coroner identified the victim as 45-year-old Sunbok You. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has confirmed to WTOC they are investigating the incident. This death comes after a worker was injured in early March, putting him in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries accord to a Hyundai spokesperson. A WTOC investigative team uncovered in December that between April 2023 and July 2024, there were at least 53 injuries requiring emergency medical services on the site. 14 of those were described as “traumatic” injuries in Bryan County EMS records. There was also a death on the megasite in 2023 when a worker fell 60 feet and died.
Unidentified Tree Trimmer died after falling from tree
Tiburon, CA — A landscaper died last week after he fell from a tree he was trimming at a Centro West Street home into a neighbor’s backyard. Tiburon police said they did not have any details on the worker’s identity or employer, and the coroner’s division of the Marin Sheriff’s Office did not comment. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which is investigating the case under standard procedure for workplace fatalities, said the man fell about 60 feet and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Logger pinned and killed by falling tree
Fort Ann, NY — One person has died after being pinned under a tree in Fort Ann, according to New York State Police. Investigators identified the victim as 76-year-old Leslie Saltsman of Fort Ann. Saltsman was located more than a half mile from the roadway in a wooded area under a downed tree and suffered severe crushing injuries, police said. Officers said life-saving measures were performed, but Saltsman was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing. However, police said the death is not being considered suspicious.
Employee killed in a Manufacturing Accident
Frazeysburg, OH — An industrial accident early Tuesday morning has resulted in one fatality. The incident occurred around 5 a.m. at DK Manufacturing, a factory that makes custom injection molding components primarily for the auto industry. The victim, John LeMaster, 46, died shortly after 5 a.m., explained Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz. Lemaster was a DK Manufacturing employee that lived in Corning. The accident remains under investigation, Lutz added.
Man dies after being found unresponsive at St. Gabriel chemical plant
ST. GABRIEL, Louisiana — A man died after being found unresponsive at a St. Gabriel chemical plant Thursday morning. St. Gabriel Police said that emergency crews were dispatched to the Nutrien Nitrogen Plant around 8:28 a.m. to find the unresponsive man. He was brought to the hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead. The plant issued a statement confirming an employee died and that they are investigating the cause of his death. No foul play is suspected, but the St. Gabriel Police Department said his death was not caused by a medical condition. The man’s death is under investigation.
St. Tammany deputy struck, killed early Sunday by fleeing suspects, authorities say
Slidell, LA — A St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy was killed on duty early Sunday (March 23) when he was struck by a fleeing suspect’s vehicle while trying to lay down a spike strip on a roadway, the agency said. The fallen deputy was identified by the agency as 37-year-old Sgt. Grant Candies, a nine-year veteran of the agency and former US Marine. Candies was a married father of two children, the STPSO said. His own father served in the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office for more than 30 years. A Luling native, the younger Candies was named St. Tammany’s Deputy of the Year in 2023. The STPSO said the pursuit began on Brownswitch Road, when a deputy attempted to stop a vehicle, which instead “fled at a high rate of speed.” “He was going at least 85, 90 mph,” one witness recalled. Sgt. Candies was laying down a spike strip on I-10 near the Oak Harbor exit to try to end the pursuit when he was struck and killed by the suspect’s vehicle, the STPSO said.
