How workers died last week: Trench collapse, tree care, forklift, railroad, construction, stabbing, falls, 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. Why We Write The Weekly Toll.
1 man dead, 2 rescued after trench collapse in Miami Township
MIAMI TOWNSHIP, Ohio — One man has died after a trench collapse left three men trapped in Miami Township on Friday evening. According to Miami Township deputy fire chief Dave Jetter, the call for the collapse came in around 3:49 p.m. on Valley Forge Drive. Jetter said three people were trapped inside the trench. One of the people inside, Jose Alberto Barajas, died, while the other two were rescued from the trench and taken to the hospital after several hours inside. Both victims who were injured had hypothermia and leg injuries, with both taken to the hospital in critical condition. Rescue crews utilized trench panels to prevent the side walls from collapsing during the operation. The fire chief said the three people were working to install a pipe inside the trench when it collapsed. Jetter said the collapse made the area surrounding the trench unstable and required extreme caution from first responders. Officials said the victims spoke Spanish and an interpreter responded to the scene to relay information between them and the rescue teams. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responding to the incident, as well as the coroner’s office. Those agencies will investigate the collapse. Investigators said the workers did not have a trench box, which are protective systems used when working in deep trenches and are required by OSHA.
Social worker dies after stabbed by patient at SF General Hospital
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A 31-year-old social worker who was stabbed multiple times in an attack at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital died Saturday, police said. The victim has been identified as 51-year-old Alberto Rangel, a social worker with UCSF. A 34-year-old San Francisco man was taken into custody after the attack about 1:39 p.m. Thursday, police said. The incident occurred in a hallway in the hospital’s Ward 86, according to a statement from the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for security at the hospital. Ward 86 is the location of the HIV clinic at the hospital’s main campus. The victim’s injuries included wounds to the neck and shoulder. Medical staff performed lifesaving measures, including CPR, and the victim was taken to an operating room in critical condition. Deputies recovered a 5-inch kitchen knife believed to have been used in the attack.
Tree trimmer fatally impaled by fence after fall in Canoga Park
CANOGA PARK, CA — A 44-year-old tree trimmer was fatally impaled by an iron fence after he fell while trimming a palm tree in Canoga Park Monday afternoon, authorities said. The incident was reported just before 3:20 p.m. in the 7400 block of Canoga Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Fire officials said the tree trimmer, identified by family members Rogelio Cruz, fell 35 feet onto a 10-foot high iron fence. Before the fall, he was trimming a palm tree. The worker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Worker killed in incident involving Forklift
PHOENIX, AZ — A man is dead after being injured in an incident involving a forklift in South Phoenix. On Monday morning, Phoenix emergency crews were called to a business near 35th Avenue and Buckeye Road for an injured worker. Officials say the man was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition and later died, officials announced. Details of the incident have not been provided. Phoenix police say the incident is being investigated as a non-criminal death investigation.
OSHA, police investigating worker death at radio tower in Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (WPVI) — Several agencies are still investigating how a worker died on a 425-foot radio tower in Atlantic City on Thursday. On Friday, local police, fire and representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) were back at the scene in Atlantic City. “First thing you do is think about his family,” said neighbor Jacob Ely. “That’s a terrible way to go.” Three police drones went up, surveying the tower and the work area. “We had heard that they were supposed to dismantle that antenna, but they said something came loose and hit him,” said Ely. It happened at Murray and Ohio Avenues in the Venice Park neighborhood. Atlantic City police say a crew from North Carolina was working on taking down a section at the top of the tower around 4:30 p.m. when a worker was injured.
Semi-truck driver killed, man injured after I-40 crash near Briley Parkway
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A semi-truck driver died, and another man was injured after a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 40 on Sunday afternoon, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. MNPD said the crash happened on I-40 West and Briley Parkway around noon. The preliminary investigation and video evidence showed that the driver of a Toyota Corolla failed to negotiate a turn while entering I-40 West from the Briley Parkway exit ramp and drove into the side of a semi-truck. A 65-year-old semi driver from California reportedly died in the crash on I-40 West. The collision caused the truck to overturn while the Corolla continued off the roadway and into a ravine. The driver of the semi-truck, identified as 65-year-old Aniceto Trujillo, of Denair, California, died at the scene.
Worker killed by falling steel at oil rig site in Fresno County
Riverdale, CA — A 29-year-old man was killed Monday morning while helping remove an oil rig from a property in Riverdale. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies responded at 10:45 a.m. to a field near Mt. Whitney and Polk avenues, where the man, an employee working on the removal of an oil rig, had been fatally crushed by a large piece of steel. Cal/OSHA has been notified and is investigating the incident. The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office identified the man who died Monday while working on an oil rig as Alfredo Oronia, 29, of Arvin.
2 city employees found dead in apparent murder-suicide at water plant in Atwater Village
ATWATER VILLAGE, CA — Two city employees are dead following an apparent murder-suicide at the Los Angeles Glendale Water Reclamation Plant in Atwater Village on Tuesday morning. Officers responded to the water reclamation plant at 4600 Colorado Boulevard just before 6 a.m. after receiving a call about a person down with a gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. When officers arrived, they found the bodies of two men with fatal gunshot wounds, triggering a large investigation on the grounds of the business. Investigators said one of the men is believed to be in his late-30s, and the other in his mid-50s. A weapon was recovered at the scene, and LAPD said the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide. Police did not immediately identify the men who died. According to a statement from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, the men were city sanitation employees.
Worker dies in 100-foot fall from tower in northwestern Wisconsin
Lake Nebagamon, WI — A worker died after falling approximately 100 feet from a communications tower in northwestern Wisconsin on Monday, according to authorities. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened around 10:30 a.m. on Industrial Park Road in Lake Nebagamon, which is roughly 30 miles from Superior. South Carolina resident Gere Walden was employed by Cross Communications and doing tower work with his associates when he suffered the fatal fall, the sheriff’s office said. Life-saving measures were attempted, but Walden died at the scene. He was wearing a harness at the time of the fall, the agency noted. The incident remains under investigation.
2 Little Caesars employees killed in Tempe
TEMPE, Ariz. – Two Little Caesars employees, 32-year-old Shaquille Simmons and 21-year-old Mary Visser, were fatally shot Monday morning at the restaurant near Guadalupe and Rural roads in Tempe. Tempe Police, who were in the area and heard the shots, quickly arrested suspect Benjaman Visser Jr., 27, at the scene with a gun in his hand; investigators said the suspect and victim Mary Visser were married. The shooting occurred as Tempe Police were also investigating an unrelated fatal shooting that took place Monday morning at Tempe Marketplace, where a suspect remains at large. The Dec. 1 incident reportedly happened at a Little Caesars in the area of Guadalupe and Rural roads at around 9 a.m. Tempe Police said 27-year-old Benjaman Visser Jr. was arrested in connection to the shooting of the victims, who were employees of the restaurant.
Freight train hits, kills worker removing snow near Naperville station
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — A Naperville contractor has died after being hit by a freight train while removing snow on Monday night, officials said. The city of Naperville said police and fire officials responded to the train station at 105 E. 4th Avenue. A BNSF freight train, heading eastbound, struck snow removal equipment operated by a man working as a contractor on the station’s south platform. The man died from his injuries, the city said. The collision disrupted Metra BNSF inbound and outbound trains on Monday evening.
Union Pacific conductor killed in train accident in Ontario
ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) — A Union Pacific conductor was killed in a train accident Wednesday in Ontario, according to authorities. Firefighters with the Ontario Fire Department responded to the 5400 block of Francis Street around 10 a.m. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the conductor was backing up when the train crashed into a combination vehicle. No further details were provided, but NTSB said it’s sending a team to Ontario to investigate. “We are saddened by the loss of a Union Pacific employee who died on the job Wednesday in Ontario, California, and extend our deepest sympathies to his family and the employees who worked alongside him,” read a statement from Union Pacific.
Forest man killed in Warren County log truck crash
Forest, MS — A Forest man was killed Wednesday night in a log truck crash on Mississippi 3 South near Vindication Road in Warren County. The Mississippi Highway Patrol said a Freightliner log truck driven by 55-year-old Karl Hager Jr. was traveling south at about 8:19 p.m. when the driver lost control of the vehicle and overturned onto the shoulder of the roadway. Hager suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Worker dies in construction accident in Bixby
TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — The Bixby Police Department reported on Friday afternoon that a construction worker was killed in an accident. Details are scarce at this time, but BPD says the accident happened in the area of 12800 S. Memorial Drive. Police say emergency responders were dispatched immediately after the incident was reported and they were unable to save the worker. The identity of the worker is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Pilot killed in helicopter crash near Pryor
PRYOR, OKLA. (KTUL) — A pilot from Idaho was killed in a helicopter crash Friday morning near Pryor. It happened east of Mid-America Industrial Airport around 9 a.m. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol identified the pilot as 56-year-old Emanuele Tsikoudakis of Idaho Falls, Idaho. Troopers say Tsikoudakis was guiding two people on the ground who were working on pulling lines. Those two people told OHP that the helicopter was hovering normally until it suddenly flipped over and hit the ground nose first.
Police ID suspect in deadly Bojangles shooting as employee
PALMETTO, Ga. — Palmetto police has identified the suspect in a deadly shooting at a metro Atlanta Bojangles as an employee. Maurice Nolan Evans of Forest Park was arrested for aggravated assault, murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, Palmetto police said. The family of the man who was shot and killed at a Palmetto Bojangles Sunday says the suspect is the shift manager. Palmetto police confirmed to Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers that officers found a man dead in the parking lot at 9135 Roosevelt Highway when they responded to the scene at 1:15 p.m. The victim’s family has identified him as Dominique Goodman.