-- JB
Two dead in chemical leak
Corpus Christi, TX -- Two men (Wendell C. Brown, 40, and Joel Camponovo, 51)died after a chemical spill at a local hazardous waste management plant Saturday, and fire officials worked into the night to contain the chemical.
A tank at Texas Molecular L.L.C. leaked some time before 2 p.m., according to Capt. Dave Cook of the Corpus Christi Police Department. The two employees working at the time were killed.
By late Saturday night, the city’s fire department had not determined what the chemical was. Cook said the chemical was being cleaned up and was not a danger to the public.
While police did not release the names of the two men killed to the public, officers confirmed to family members at the scene that Wendell C. Brown had been killed.
N.Y. Trooper Shot to Death in Gun Battle
BIG FLATS, N.Y -- A state trooper was shot and killed Wednesday in a gun battle with two suspected bank robbers, authorities said. Both were wounded and later captured.
Trooper Andrew Sperr, a 10-year veteran, came upon the men about an hour after the midday bank robbery, Major Steven White said.
When Sperr approached their truck, the men opened fire and Sperr managed to shoot both of them before dying of multiple gunshot wounds, White said.
Sperr, 33, "did his job but it cost him his life," he said.
GUARD DIES AFTER BEING HIT BY CAR
LAKELAND, FL -- A Rooms To Go security guard was killed Thursday when she was struck by a car while picking up debris from a previous car accident, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Gail Payne, 56, of Lakeland, was on Airport Road north of Gay Road at 6:40 p.m. when the accident happened, said FHP spokesman Larry Coggins. She was in front of the Rooms To Go warehouse.
The road was dark, and when Payne bent over to pick up debris, she was hit by a 1998 Cadillac sedan.
Heroic' rescue for 3 from burning smokestack
Moundsville, WV - A construction worker died in a smokestack fire at a West Virginia power plant on Saturday and three others were plucked by helicopter from the 900-foot (275 meter) structure while it still burned, authorities said.
The three rescued workers were in stable condition when they were transferred to medical helicopters and flown to a Pittsburgh hospital, Gruzinskas told Reuters. The body of the fourth worker had not yet been recovered because the fire was still burning, he said.
The coal-fired plant near Moundsville, West Virginia, is owned by American Electric Power. The smokestack was still under construction at the time and the plant remained operating throughout the incident, Gruzinskas said.
The workers were at the top of the stack and coating the inside of it with fiberglass resin when the fire erupted, possibly caused by a space heater, he said.
Work accident kills 52-year-old man
WALKER, MI -- A local Boys Scouts leader and longtime employee of Betz Industries is being remembered for his commitment to his family and area children after he died of injuries following an on-the-job accident this week.
Terry Peters, 52, of Plainfield Township, suffered crushing injuries about 2 a.m. Wednesday as he was handling a load with an overhead crane at the company's Walker plant, state investigators said. He was taken to Spectrum Butterworth Campus, where he died several hours later.
Worker dies at Anthem construction site
Broomfield, CO -- A 53-year-old construction worker died at about 3 p.m. Wednesday after he was run over by a road grader at Anthem Colorado at Broomfield.
The man was working on the Anthem Colorado project, at the southwest corner of Colo. 7 and Interstate 25, when he suffered traumatic injuries to his chest, neck and extremities.
The name of the man, from Greeley, has not been released.
Man dies at docks as ship hits crane
Mobile, AL -- An electrician was killed Thursday after a ship struck the Alabama state docks' largest container crane, causing it to collapse, authorities and eyewitnesses said.
The ZIM Mexico III, chartered by Israel-based ZIM Lines, hit the crane at about 11:30 a.m., authorities and eyewitnesses said. The 534-foot-long ship was turning in the river when its bow struck the crane, which was not in use at the time, Smitty Thorne, the state docks' vice president of operations, said Thursday afternoon during an emergency Alabama State Port Authority board conference call.
Two electricians, both employees of Gulf Electric Co. Inc. of Mobile, were installing a device on the crane when it was hit, Thorne said. The electrician who died, identified by police as 46-year-old Shawn David Jacobs of Mobile, could not immediately be retrieved from the wreckage. Rescue workers removed the body about 5 p.m.
Deputy killed while on drug detail
NAPOLEONVILLE La. -- An Assumption Parish sheriff's deputy was fatally shot while trying to arrest a man suspected of dealing drugs, authorities said.
Sgt. Jeremy Newchurch, 31, was working with a narcotics task force when the shooting occurred about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sheriff Mike Waguespack said.
As officers approached a car, the driver tried to get away, but crashed into a ditch, the sheriff said. In an ensuing struggle with officers, the man went for the deputy's gun. Newchurch was hit in the chest above his bulletproof vest, but it was unclear by whose gun.
TRUCK DRIVER KILLED IN ROLLOVER ON ROUTE 3;
Duxbury, MA -- A 10-wheel truck with a boom arm struck an overpass and overturned on Route 3 south in Duxbury yesterday afternoon, killing the driver and shutting down the highway for several hours, which tied up South Shore commuters during the evening rush hour, State Police said.
The 1998 Mack 600 hit the North Street overpass in Duxbury at about 2:20 p.m., causing extensive damage to the truck, which rolled over in the middle of the highway.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical workers, police said. State Police identified him as Daniel E. Reddington, 35, of Plymouth. The cement block transport truck Reddington was driving is owned by Kingston Block Co.
Two employees of mini-casino killed
BAYOU BLUE, La. -- An unarmed security guard and a manager were killed by gunshots to the head at a video poker casino early Friday, authorities said.Brenda B. Roberson, 63, of Houma, and Francis C. Schaeffer, 29, of Chauvin, were found dead inside Lucky's Casino just after 5 a.m., said Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter.Investigators did not believe robbery was the motive since accessible money was left behind, but casino managers were doing an accounting to see if any cash was missing, Larpenter said.
PSE contract worker electrocuted in vault
RENTON, WA -- A 24-year-old contract worker for Puget Sound Energy died Wednesday night after being electrocuted, the Renton Fire Department reported Thursday. The death is being classified as an industrial accident, and an investigation is under way, Lt. Larry Welch said.
"We don't see this very often," he said. "Those guys are pretty safe."
The accident occurred about 11:30 p.m. in the 600 to 700 block of Rainier Avenue South. The worker was in an underground power vault when he made contact with a wire or something else, according to Welch.
Federal Ag Dept. worker dies when boat capsizes
SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. -- A small boat carrying two U.S. Agriculture Department workers and a dog capsized Thursday on Clear Lake and one of the men drowned, the Skagit County sheriff's office said.The 37-year-old victim, from Maryland, was not immediately identified. A search team recovered the man's body in about 14 feet of water, about 50 feet from shore.
SUV Crash Into Chicago Train Station Kills Worker
CHICAGO, IL -- A female railroad worker was killed when a car crashed into Chicago train station platform and the driver fled the scene, according to a Metra rail service spokesman Friday.
The early morning crash "did a significant amount of damage" to the south platform of the Berwyn station, but no debris landed on the tracks, said Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet. Train service on Metra's Burlington Northern Santa Fe was not affected.
The unidentified victim was an employee of the BNSF Railway, a subsidiary of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, spokesman Steve Forsberg said. Authorities were not releasing the name of the victim pending family notification, Forsberg said.
Forklift accident kills plant worker
LUMBERTON, NC - An employee with Buckeye Lumberton Inc. was killed in an accident at the plant on Monday.
Charles McNeill was killed when a forklift he was operating overturned and pinned him beneath it, Plant Manager Andy Bethea said late Monday.
Bethea said the accident occurred Monday morning in the warehouse. No other employees were injured.
Store Employee Killed
Binghampton, TN -- A store clerk is dead. He was shot and killed after a fight with armed crooks.
The shooing happened around 9 on Tuesday night at DJ’s grocery in Binghampton.
Two men walked in a pulled a gun on the clerk behind the counter. Anther clerk walked out from the back of the store and started fighting with the gunmen. That clerk was shot and later died.
Employee killed in Chapman Highway wreck
Knoxville, TN -- Charges are pending in the traffic death Wednesday of a 32-year-old Knoxville delivery man killed when another driver pulled into his path on Chapman Highway, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Melvin Glass of Knoxville died in the 1:20 p.m. crash on Chapman Highway near the intersection with Hendrons Chapel Drive, said THP Trooper Randall Massengill.
Glass was driving a 1994 Nissan Sentra owned by his boss while making a delivery for his employer, Kustom Auto Kolors, 6220 Chapman Highway, Massengill said.
CONSTRUCTION WORKER KILLED AT MERIDIAN JOB SITE
MERIDIAN, Idaho -- A construction worker was killed at a job site this morning when a pallet of lumber fell on him.
Police have not identified the man -- who died at the scene from his injuries.
But they say he was working at the Meadow Lakes Retirement Community in Meridian. They estimated the lumber weighed as much as three thousand pounds.
They say the lumber was being lifted off a truck when it slid off the forklift.
Death of accident victim is mourned
Grass Valley, CA -- An occupational safety inspector is investigating the accidental death of 23-year-old Russell Jeffers while his family and friends plan to attend a memorial service for the young construction worker today at Condon Park.
Jeffers died of blunt force trauma to his upper body when he became pinned in the mechanisms of a backhoe at a residential construction site Feb. 24 on the 15000 block of McCourtney Road.
"It's a tragedy," said Dan Kemp, Jeffers' former agricultural mechanics teacher at Bear River High School. "Everybody feels so bad over this. He will surely be missed."
Jeffers was reportedly digging a leach line approximately 1,200 feet from a newly constructed residence in a small valley, alone and out of sight of other workers.
According to the sheriff's investigation report, Jeffers' employer John Fischer - owner of Norcal Construction - went to check on Jeffers at approximately 4:30 p.m. to see if he had finished the job.
Two killed in Jacksonville high-rise fall
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Two construction workers -- one from Dallas -- fell 22 stories to their deaths when their work platform on a high-rise condo project fell in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the collapse that killed Miguel Lopez of Dallas and Genaro Garcia-Rivera of Atlanta.
Police say the men were getting ready to pour concrete for the 22nd floor when the platform on which they were standing buckled.
Both worked for subcontractor Total Concrete Structures of Atlanta.
Man dies at job after 7-foot fall in Garden City
Garden City Beach, SC -- A Myrtle Beach man died after he fell from a roof Tuesday afternoon near Garden City Beach.
Patrick Dunn, 47, was working on the roof of a new home at Wood Lakes subdivision around 5:20 p.m. when he slipped and fell about 7 feet, said Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard.
Dunn landed on his upper back and shoulder and died from spinal cord and neck injuries, Willard said.
His death was the first fatal construction accident this year in Horry County, Willard said.
There have been two work-related deaths in the Grand Strand so far in 2006 including Dunn.
A man died in Georgetown County in January after being pinned between two pieces of machinery at International Paper's Sampit Lumber Mill.
James Merritt, 52, a maintenance worker at the Sampit mill, died in the final minutes of his shift Jan. 17.
One dead in port explosion
Brownsville, TX - An 18-wheeler tanker truck filled with motor oil exploded Monday at the Port of Brownsville, killing one man.
The yet unidentified victim was an employee at RTW Terminals, a port lessee, Fire Chief Lenny Perez said. Officials would not release the name of the man killed in the blast, pending notification of family members Monday evening.
Perez said the “accident” occurred at about 4:30 p.m. Shortly after, crews were working to secure the scene and investigate the cause of the explosion.
Construction Worker Dies After Dump Truck Crashes Into Him
DESTIN, Fla. -- A construction worker died after a dump truck backed over him at a Panhandle construction site.
Fifty-five-year-old Eugene Gilbert Timmer died at the scene, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Timmer stepped into the path of the truck driven by Joey Moore. No charges were filed against Moore, who was delivering sand.
Man killed in corn chopper accident
WESTERN, N.Y.-- A central New York man died in a farm accident Saturday involving a corn chopper.
Oneida County sheriff's deputies said 21-year-old Jason Southwick of Western was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials said Southwick was feeding hay into a corn chopper when the accident happened.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Leak likely led to blast, investigators say
MORGANTON, NC -- A leak of flammable chemical vapor during a manufacturing process was the most likely cause of the January plant explosion that killed one man and injured several others, federal investigators said yesterday.
Employees at the Synthron Inc. plant were making a paint additive when vapor escaped just before the explosion, said Jim Lay, lead investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The process uses flammable chemicals including butyl acrylate and solvents, and generates significant amounts of heat.
The explosion leveled much of the plant, blew out windows up to a third of a mile away and injured all 12 employees on duty and some passers-by. Curtis "Butch" Brackett, the plant's facilities maintenance head, died after suffering severe burns.
Pressure within the reactor increased before the leak, but investigators aren't certain why, Lay said. The plant made the paint additive only about once or twice a year, he said.
Worker killed in mishap at Hynundai supplier in Greenville
GREENVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Authorities are investigating last night's death of a worker at a Hyundai-supplier in Greenville. Mayor Dexter McClendon says the accident happened shortly after 7 p.m. at the Hwashin (Wash-en) America Plant. He said the male employee, whose name was withheld, was pinned between a roll of steel and another material. McClendon said the worker died of his injuries.
Worker killed in Southeast Texas well blast
MADISONVILLE, Texas -- An oil-field worker died when a natural-gas well exploded in Southeast Texas, near Madisonville.
Madison County Sheriff Dan Douget says the man was apparently trying to relieve a pressure build-up in the well last night when it exploded.
His name is withheld pending notification of relatives. Douget says the man was the only person at the site when the blast happened.
There was no fire at the well, which is owned by ChevronTexaco's Caltex division.
Police call death of airport worker an accident
Charlotte, NC -- A woman was killed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Tuesday, investigators ruled it an accident, but don't know how it happened.
Joyce Miller, 29, worked out on the tarmac at Wilson Air. Airport officials said they believe she was driving a motorized cart early Tuesday morning and somehow got pinned underneath it.
How? That's all part of the ongoing police investigation.
Construction Worker Killed in South Walton
South Walton, FL -- The superintendent of the construction site in the Gulf Dunes community, located behind Goatfeathers Seafood Restaurant on Gulf View Heights, was struck and killed by a dump truck Tuesday morning.
The South Walton Fire District pronounced the man, simply identified as “Gene,” dead at the scene. South Walton Fire Chief Les Hallman stated that the time of death was not yet known and that the Florida Highway Patrol would be investigating the incident.
Gene, 55, was in the direct path of the dump truck when it backed out.
Gene worked for the "Just Building Specialists, LLC."
Coroner identifies construction worker
San Bernardino, CA -- A man who died after he was buried under several feet of dirt while working on construction of the Interstate 210 extension has been identified as 32-year-old Leo Gaona-Telles of Moreno Valley.
About 4:15 p.m. Saturday, Gaona-Telles and an unidentified worker were installing trench boxes inside a 30-foot-deep hole near the intersection of State Street and Highland Avenue when the north side of the hole collapsed.
Gaona-Telles was knocked down and trapped under four feet of dirt. The second worker was buried only up to his waist, San Bernardino Fire Department officials said.
Coroner's officials have listed Gaona-Telles' cause of death as traumatic asphyxia, said Lead Supervising Deputy Robert Shaw.
Woman surrenders on manslaughter charge in Dothan worker's death
Dothan, AL -- A woman accused of striking and killing a Dothan city worker with her car has surrendered to face manslaughter charges, police said.
Tammy Melinda Devane, 43, of Ashford, surrendered Thursday. Bond has been set at $40,000.
According to police, Devane was driving a blue Nissan car Feb. 23, when she ran into the back of a city traffic engineering bucket truck that had stopped in the road while performing maintenance on a roadside sign.
City worker Johnny White, 57, was standing behind the truck filling out paperwork when he was hit by Devane's car and died at the scene.
Rancho station officer sixth killed in five months
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA - The commissioner of the California Highway Patrol on Sunday ordered a statewide internal CHP review in response to Saturday night's death of a Rancho Cucamonga station officer, the sixth death of an on-duty CHP officer in the past five months.
CHP Commissioner Mike L. Brown flew in from Sacramento for a press conference Sunday after word reached him that the department had lost yet another on-duty officer.
A suspected drunken driver crashed into Gregory John Bailey, 36, at 10:30 p.m. after Bailey pulled over a pickup on the 15 Freeway north of Oak Hills Road at the top of the Cajon Pass. Bailey, who had recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, was flown to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he died.
Officer dies after being shot chasing robbery suspect
KIRKLAND, N.Y. - A decorated police officer was shot and killed while pursuing suspected jewel thieves, and police in New York and Pennsylvania on Tuesday searched for one of the suspects.
"We're all very shaken, but we're all professionals and we have a job to do," said police Lt. Timothy O'Neill in announcing Monday night's shooting death of 30-year-old officer Joseph Corr, a six-year veteran of the New Hartford Town Police Department.
Accident that killed car wash worker to be reviewed
WAUWAUTOSA, Wis. - A car wash worker was killed when a co-worker went to move a vehicle and it lurched ahead, hitting and dragging the teen, police said.
The sport utility vehicle dragged the victim, 17-year-old Alex Kroll, to the street before it crashed into a nearby building, said police Lt. Dominic Leone.
He said the incident Saturday appeared to be an accident, but the case would be turned over to the Milwaukee County district attorney to review for possible charges.
B'klyn Home Depot worker knifed to death
Brooklyn, NY -- A Brooklyn Home Depot employee was stabbed to death yesterday by a hooded assailant who then calmly strode out of the store, police said.
Tunde Alonge, 25, was knifed in the chest just before 9 a.m. in an empty aisle at the Flatlands store. He then stumbled to the row of cash registers, and a worker called 911, cops said.
The hooded attacker, described as a man in his 20s, went unnoticed by other employees as he strolled out of the Avenue U store minutes after walking in through the main entrance doors, cops said.
Construction worker dies after trench wall caves in
San Bernardino, CA -- A construction worker died Saturday after a trench he was in collapsed, trapping him under as much as six feet of dirt, authorities said Sunday.
The worker was helping install a storm drain on Highland Avenue and State Street in San Bernardino as part of the 210 freeway extension, said Jason Serrano, a San Bernardino Fire Department public information officer.
The accident took place shortly after 7 p.m. and within 30 minutes of arriving on scene, fire rescue crews uncovered the man and transported him to Community Hospital of San Bernardino where he died, Serrano said. The man's identity has not been released.
The man, along with another worker, were in the trench guiding shoring boxes into place when one of the sidewalls collapsed, Serrano said.
One of the two workers escaped but the other was buried under four to six feet of dirt, Serrano said.
Serrano said a person buried under one foot of dirt feels the equivalent of 1,000 pounds of pressure.
The man was a worker for Atkinson Construction Inc., a Broomfield, Colo.-based company with extensive contracts to work on the 210 freeway extension through Rialto and San Bernardino.
GSA Worker Electrocuted
Washington, D.C. (AP) - A General Services Administration worker is dead after an apparent accident on the job.
D.C. police say officers and firefighters found the 46-year-old man unconscious this morning in the basement of a building in the 300 block of Seventh Street Southwest. Investigators believe he was electrocuted.
Worker dies after mishap at Bay View
Toledo, OH -- A Port Clinton man died yesterday from severe injuries he suffered after he and a co-worker were run over by an all-terrain forklift at Toledo's Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant.
John Franks, 45, a carpentry foreman for Rudolph/Libbe Inc., the contractor at the city's sewer expansion site at the plant at Summit Street and Manhattan Boulevard, was taken to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center about 9:20 a.m. and died later in the morning.
The other construction worker, Joel Sandwisch, 67, of Millbury, was treated at St. Vincent.
Gary Haas, manager of contracts and administration for the Walbridge-based Rudolph/Libbe said a forklift truck driver was backing up at the site of the expansion sewer hole when one of the truck's wheels hit and ran over Mr. Franks and Mr. Sandwisch.
Art dealer fatally shot in Chinatown; Community leader slain in his shop -- killer at large
San Francisco, CA -- A community leader in Chinatown was gunned down inside his shop Monday afternoon, authorities said.
Allen Leung, 56, was shot multiple times inside the Wonkow Art Centres at 603 Jackson Street between Grant Avenue and Kearny Street.
Leung, an art dealer, was the president of the Chinese Community Cultural Association, a community group that has organized events in Chinatown.
Leung's wife, Jenny Leung, called police shortly before 4 p.m. and said her husband had been shot inside the business, police said.
Padnos worker dies from injuries on job
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 15-year veteran of recycling operations at Louis Padnos Iron & Metal Co.'s Turner Street facility has died from injuries he suffered while working last week.
State officials say John Janosky, 42, of Bangor, suffered a serious head injury when something struck him while he was changing the grates of a scrapping machine on Feb. 16.
Student Driver, Instructor Killed in Crash
ELMIRA TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A car driven by a 15-year-old student driver turned into oncoming traffic and was broadsided by a van, killing the student and his instructor, police said.
Zachary Stevens, of Gaylord, and Valentine Kapture, 52, of Lewiston, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash Saturday.
"The driver's ed student, for whatever reason, turned into the westbound lane," State Police Sgt. Greg Gendregske said.
Man crushed at job site
ACCORD, N.Y. -- A construction worker in Ulster County was killed when the excavator he was operating pinned him to a tree. Another man who tried to save him was injured, police said. Jeffrey Lawrence, 47, of Accord, accidentally hit a lever while he exited the cab of an excavator at the building site in Accord. The cab began to rotate, trapping Lawrence between the cab and a tree, according to State Police. He died at the scene. Donald Hasenflue Sr., 46, suffered several broken ribs after being pinned against the tree. Police said Hasenflue owns DHL Excavating in Rosendale, the company that had employed Lawrence and was developing the four-home subdivision.Investigator Stanley O'Dell said no criminal charges will be filed.
Airport worker killed on tarmac
Detroit, MI - A customer service representative for Comair who had only been on the job for about a month at Detroit Metropolitan Airport was killed Sunday. Eric Michniewicz, a Comair employee responsible for unloading and loading luggage, was struck by a beltloader at about 2:30 p.m. He was a resident of Belleville. Kate Moser, a spokeswoman for Comair, a Delta connector airline, said Monday that the accident remains under investigation. "An accident like this is extremely rare," Moser said. Michniewicz was preparing to unload luggage from an arriving plane when he was struck on the tarmac.
Colorado Springs police officer killed; man arrested by agents
COLORADO SPRINGS - A police officer was shot to death Wednesday and a man was arrested about 1 1/2 hours later after a massive search, Police Chief Luis Velez told KKTV in Colorado Springs.
The officer was identified by Velez as Jared Jensen, 30. Authorities said two shots were fired, but it was not clear whether either came from the officer's gun.
Man found shot dead at shooting range
FOREST CITY, Iowa -- Authorities are investigating the death of a man found shot yesterday afternoon at a shooting range in Forest City. Police say they aren't sure whether 47-year-old Tim Collins was shot accidentally. A passing motorist noticed Collins' body at the range and called police. The Hancock County Sheriff's Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are also investigating the case. Forest City Police Chief Dan Davis says an autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death. Collins was an employee of Forest City's electrical plant.
Two firefighters killed after wall collapses
MOULTON, Ala. (AP) — A wall collapsed at a north Alabama business where firefighters were putting out a nighttime blaze, killing two men in the firefighting team.
Lawrence County Coroner Greg Randolph identified the victims on Wednesday as Moulton Assistant Fire Chief Lloyd McCulloch, 64, and firefighter Justin Jones, 24.
Randolph said the men died from internal injuries to the head and chest sustained when the wall fell Tuesday night. The bodies were transferred to the Department of Forensic Sciences facility in Huntsville for an autopsy.
Small plane crashes in Washington suburbs, killing two
BOWIE, Md. -- A small plane headed to Atlantic City crashed during a snow squall Wednesday in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., killing two men and critically injuring a woman. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said the single-engine Cessna 172 took off from Warrenton-Fauquier Airport in Midland, Va. It was heading for Atlantic City, but making a stop at Freeway Airport to pick up a man who was waiting in the airport office when the crash occurred.
Owner dies after shooting at store
Omaha, NE -- A 48-year-old Omaha man died Tuesday at the Nebraska Medical Center after being found injured on the floor of his business near 62nd Street and Ames Avenue.
Waddell Craig Robinson was taken to the hospital "in very critical condition," about 1 p.m., said Police Sgt. Teresa Negron.
He was alone in the French Silk Shoe Shop at 6201 Ames Ave. when a customer discovered him on the floor and called 911.
Electrical shock kills tree worker
Omaha, NE -- A 44-year-old man died Tuesday morning after being severely shocked while clearing trees from a lot at 911 S. 31st St.
The accident occurred about 11 a.m.
Tom Cappellano was operating a boom from the ground and loading tree branches onto the bed of a Heartland Tree Service truck. A long branch was being lowered onto the truck when the upper portion of the boom apparently came in contact with electrical lines. Cappellano was declared dead at the Nebraska Medical Center.
Jeff Hanson, a spokesman for Omaha Public Power District, said the power line was an 8,000-volt distribution line.
Truck driver killed in crash identified
Orlando, FL -- A truck driver who was killed Tuesday on U.S. Highway 27 has been identified as Michall Cambron, 40, of Apopka, the Florida Highway Patrol said this morning.
Investigators said Cambron and a 85-year-old man died instantly when the elderly driver turned in front of the orange-juice tanker headed north on U.S. 27.
Jupiter construction worker killed in fall
Jupiter, FL - A Hispanic man in his 40s was killed Monday morning in a construction accident in the 200 block of West Bay Cedar Circle in the Botanica development at Indian Creek Parkway and Military Trail. Marcello Hernandez, a resident from Mexico, according to Jupiter Police, was part of a crew installing roof trusses on the second story of a building under construction. He may have been reaching for a roof truss that was being raised by a nearby crane when he lost his balance and fell to the concrete walkway.
Granite Company Worker Crushed To Death
MILFORD, Conn. -- A West Haven man was crushed to death while working in Milford after slabs of granite fell on him shortly after 2 p.m. The man was working at a granite company in Milford when six or seven slabs of granite crushed him. Each slab weighs about 1,000 pounds. The man’s name has not yet been released. The Occupational Safety and Health Department was sent to the scene.
Nodaway County farmer dies when tractor rolls over him
CONCEPTION, Mo. - Jim Coulter, 63, was killed Monday in an accident on his farm near Conception, the Nodaway County Sheriff's Department said. Sgt. Steve Whittington said Coulter was putting hay out for cattle when the tractor he was using rolled over him. He said he apparently stopped on a slight slope and was getting off the tractor when it began to roll, striking him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Local Farmer Killed by Hay Bale
HAMBURG, PA-February 21, 2006 - A 77-year-old Berks County man suffocated yesterday when a bale of hay fell on him at his farm. State police say H. Daniel Wenger was in his barn on Old Route 22 in Upper Bern Township when a hay bale broke loose and pinned him. Police say the accident happened between noon and 4pm. Wenger's body was discovered by family members.
Farm accident in Hugo claims life
Hugo, MN - The farming community lost one of its own last week when an accident in Hugo claimed the life of a young farmer. Peter James Leroux, 27, was killed when he was caught in a corn picker while working in a field on Thursday, Feb. 16, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Leroux was found caught in the corn picker at 6:50 p.m. after a neighbor called police. The neighbor, who had seen the tractor and corn picker in the same location earlier in the day, became concerned and called police.
Campobello construction worker killed after fall from roof
Boiling Springs, SC - A 33-year-old Campobello construction worker has died after falling 16 feet from a roof at a job site in Boiling Springs. Brett Orion Glover died Monday night from injuries sustained in the fall. Glover was an employee of Action Building Company of Spartanburg. He and four other men were working on a house at the time of the Monday morning accident. Company president Jim Jones says Glover worked for the company at least 15 years and was experienced in the field. Jones says it is the company's first fatal accident.
Fall exposes job's hazards
Potosi, MN - It's dangerous working on a bridge, dozens if not hundreds of feet above water. At best, you have a rope or a net to save you. Falls are the leading cause of death for construction workers. The cause could be lost footing on a house roof or a dramatic drop from a radio tower hundreds of feet high. Bridges pose a special risk, especially if they span water waiting to swallow an ironworker or electrician or painter who missteps and perhaps gets carried off by a swift current. That danger was underscored Friday when painters tumbled from a platform that broke under the Jefferson Barracks Bridge. Safety lines snagged three of the workers. But Jimmy Belfield, 39, of Potosi, disappeared into the cold Mississippi River, about 90 feet below.
Beaumont officer dies in accident
Beaumont , TX - A 15-year veteran of the Beaumont Police Department died Sunday night in a single vehicle accident in Orange County. Detective John E. Nobles, 37, was killed around 9 p.m. on FM 1132 near FM 105 when he lost control of his car and struck a utility pole. Nobles died at the scene. Nobles was a resident of Mauriceville. He is survived by his wife, who is also a detective in the Beaumont Police Department, three children and four step-children. Police say Detective Nobles was not on duty at the time of the accident. Funeral arrangements are pending
Construction worker crushed to death
Accord, NY - A man was killed in a construction accident in Accord Tuesday, about a half-mile north of the Hudson Valley Resort on Granite Road. Stanley O'Dell, a senior investigator with state New York Ptate Police in Ellenville who was at the scene, did not identify the man, but said the accident is under investigation. O"Dell made the comments to MidHudsonNews.com around 3:15 p.m. as emergency personnel, from Accord and Kerhonkson continued working at the accident site, a new subdivision being built along Granite Road. Initial reports said the man was crushed by a piece of excavating equipment. A second person was said to have suffered head and chest trauma.
Mechanic dies of injuries from chemical plant leak
Reading, Ohio- Injuries from a gas leak last week at a suburban Cincinnati chemical plant have killed a mechanic, and authorities tried to figure out Monday how high concentrations of the compound formed because the company does not use the gas. William Cromer, 53, of Fayetteville, died Saturday at University Hospital in Cincinnati. He was one of 11 Rohm & Haas Co. workers sickened Wednesday in the gas leak. Some who inhaled the gas had severe respiratory problems, Reading Fire Chief Kevin Kaiser said.
Lansing Waste Management employee killed Monday
EATON RAPIDS - A 44-year-old Waste Management employee from Lansing was struck and killed by an automobile as he collected trash west of Eaton Rapids early Monday. The man was identified as Eric James Ely. The accident happened about 6:30 a.m. on Royston Road south of M-50 in Eaton Township, the Eaton County Sheriff's Department said. The driver of the car, a 19-year-old Charlotte man, was waiting at the scene when deputies arrived, the sheriff's department said. The accident remains under investigation.
Funeral Held For Young BSO Deputy Killed On Interstate
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Broward Sheriff's Office deputy who was killed while conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 595 last week was remembered in a memorial service Tuesday. A rider-less horse escorted the body of Ryan Seguin into the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, where a legion of law enforcement personnel gathered to pay their final respects to the 23-year-old deputy. Sheriff Ken Jenne delivered the opening remarks. "We must celebrate the life of Ryan, who was a true hometown hero," he said. Seguin stopped a car traveling westbound shortly after 9 p.m. last Wednesday and was standing outside his unmarked car when Valdo Vega's Toyota Camry drifted into the emergency lane and hit him, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Santangelo said.
Worker may have been electrocuted at plant
MACOMB, MI - A Glasford man died Wednesday at the Pella Windows plant, but state and local officials are not sure what caused his death.
It appears Tyler Gardner, 22, was electrocuted while installing some lighting in one area of the factory, which is scheduled to be open for production this year.
Investigators said a number of workers in the plant heard a loud crashing sound and found Gardner having an apparent seizure on the floor.
Man who died in caved trench loved life, work, his father says
Reno, NV -- When 20-year-old Clayton Gregory left the family home in Redding, Calif. for a temporary job in Reno, he promised his father he would make him proud. "We weren't expecting to receive him in a box," Steve Gregory said Friday from his home in Redding. Gregory died Tuesday when a trench at a northwest Reno golf course collapsed, burying him under 4 feet of mud and dirt. The cave-in trapped Gregory and three other men installing a drain on the second hole of Somersett Country Club golf course. Jon Winfield, the owner of Western States Equipment and Bobcat Service, was also stuck in the cave-in but was pulled out almost immediately. A second worker, Travis Cruz, 39, of Reno, almost completely buried in the collapse, died at 10:52 a.m. Saturday at Washoe Medical Center, the Washoe County Coroner's Office said.
Worker dies in five-floor fall
Jackson, WY - A construction worker fell at least five stories to his death Saturday while working inside a downtown office building. Atlanta Fire Department officials said a construction crew was working on an interior staircase on the 5th floor of the Heanley Building, located across from the Court of Appeals. The man, whose identification was being withheld until notification of his family, was pronounced dead on the scene. ``It was an open staircase with no landings. It's pretty much open from the 5th floor all the way down to the ground floor,'' Capt. Stan Surry said Saturday. Capt. Surry said the crew was working on a loft project under renovation.
Construction worker dies in fall
SAN MARCOS, CA – A 36-year-old construction worker died Saturday when he fell off the roof of a house in San Marcos, according to a sheriff's dispatcher. Elias Tapia of Fontana was pronounced dead shortly after 9 a.m., after he fell from a third-story catwalk at a home under construction in the 1800 block of Melrose Drive, a medical examiner investigator said.
Saucier firefighter dies of infection from work injury, coroner says
GULFPORT Miss. -- A Saucier firefighter injured last month in the line of duty died of a staph infection, Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove says.
Gary Kistler Sr., 65, cut a finger removing a piece of equipment from a truck Jan. 30 while responding to a fatal traffic accident on U.S. 49, Hargrove said.
Kistler died Feb. 5 after an overnight hospital stay.
The retired Seabee from Spokane, Wash., had settled in South Mississippi in 1966. He was a firefighter for 30 years and was Saucier Volunteer Fire Department's only paid firefighter.
Cuts and broken skin are common injuries among firefighters and emergency medical personnel, Hargrove said.
"He probably didn't even realize he was ill, and that was a problem. He had gone to the hospital to be checked for a possible pulled muscle after responding to a fire and a couple of days later, he got real ill and was taken by ambulance to a hospital," Hargrove said. "The infection had spread throughout his body."
Two in ambulance crew die in Ark. crash
CARTHAGE Ark. -- Two emergency medical technicians died when their ambulance went off a road and hit a tree in Dallas County as they responded to a medical emergency, state police said.
The ambulance was northbound on Arkansas 273 when it went out of control on a curve, according to the accident report.
The driver, James K. Goodman, 46, of Redfield, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 7 p.m. Wednesday accident. The passenger, Timothy H. Clowers, 31, of Sheridan, died at a hospital in Pine Bluff a few hours later, state police said.
The accident report said the men were not wearing seat belts. The ambulance rolled several times before hitting the tree and Goodman and Clowers were ejected, the report said.
Worker killed in accident at Delaware County quarry
Aston, PA -- A superintendent has been killed in an accident at the Pyramid Materials quarry in Aston, and the state said yesterday that it had ordered the company to suspend rock-crushing operations there while the death was being investigated.
Charles R. Davis 3d, 25, of Pottstown, died Monday of "blunt force chest injuries," according to the Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office. He was struck by equipment being lifted by a crane while working at the crusher, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The 50-acre quarry is owned by Haines & Kibblehouse Inc., of Skippack. A company spokesman, Tony Jeremias, said it was "willing to cooperate in any way" with the state, adding that the firm was also conducting an investigation. He said Pyramid has 10 to 15 full-time employees.
Indiana wreck kills two Louisville friends; both UPS drivers
Indianapolis, IN -- Two Louisville men who were friends and frequent partners on the road as drivers for UPS died after their truck crashed Sunday night on Interstate 65 south of Indianapolis.
The wreck, just north of the Edinburgh exit, claimed the lives of Jonathan Van Rheenen, who was riding in the sleeper compartment, and Eric Everett Dickerson Sr., who was driving. Both were 34 years old, fathers of young children and active in their churches.
Van Rheenen died at the scene when the truck rear-ended another truck in slow-moving traffic in the northbound lanes, the Indianapolis Star reported.
Dickerson was flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and died there Monday, according to the newspaper.
Business owner killed in Oxford office shooting
OXFORD Ala. -- A Heflin man was charged with murder Wednesday after allegedly shooting his boss in the back of the head at the Oxford business where he repaired motorcycles.
Fred Allen Walker, 48, was charged with killing Jerry Wayne Harrell, 62, the co-owner of MotorCycle Sports on Alabama 21, where Walker was a longtime employee, Talladega County Sheriff Jerry Studdard said.
Electrical accident kills drilling worker Hickory Creek: Boom of rig hits power line; second man hurt
HICKORY CREEK. TX - The boom of a drilling rig struck a power line Friday afternoon, electrocuting one worker and injuring another.
The men, employees of Earth Tec, a Frisco water well driller, were working in a vacant lot where a house is being built on Brier Lane in a neighborhood off Turbeville Road.
Hickory Creek Police Chief Chad Brinlee said the surge of electricity struck the drilling rig and the two men. It blew out a front tire and ignited a fire that burned in and around the equipment.
One worker was declared dead at the scene and the other was taken by helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
Chief Brinlee did not identify the workers, and the condition of the second man was not available Friday evening.
HELICOPTER CRASHES IN SCOTTSDALE; 2 DIE;
Scottsdale, AZ -- The investigation into a fatal Scottsdale helicopter accident continues today as federal officials determine how a pilot lost control and crash-landed between two upscale homes.
The two-passenger Robinson R-22 helicopter went down southwest of Pima and Jomax roads at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. At 10:36 a.m., the pilot sent a mayday signal to Scottsdale Airport, said Mike Fergus, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
Carl Smith, 39, was identified as the pilot of the helicopter. The Mesa resident and a female passenger were found dead at the scene. The woman's name is being withheld until her family can be notified.
Md. governor to visit prison where slain officer worked
HAGERSTOWN Md. -- Gov. Robert Ehrlich was to visit the state prison where a slain correctional officer worked, intending to show support for public safety and concern for the dangers that some prison workers say have increased during his administration.
The Republican governor's scheduled visit Friday afternoon to Roxbury Correctional Institution comes four weeks after the death of Jeffery A. Wroten, 44, of Martinsburg, W.Va. Wroten was shot in the face with his own gun Jan. 26 while guarding an inmate who had been admitted to Washington County Hospital in nearby Hagerstown.
Falling clay traps, kills construction worker
OWENSBORO Ky. -- A welder was killed when ground clay fell on him as he was working to unclog a 120-ton steel tank, officials said.
Jason Crider, 30, of Owensboro, was pronounced dead at the scene Thursday afternoon. An autopsy was planned for Friday.
Coroner Bob Howe said Crider was covered and apparently suffocated.
Crider was standing on a conveyor belt below the opening of the 34-foot-tall tank, which was being installed at Owensboro Brick and Tile. The tank holds the powdery ground clay, and Crider was using a torch to cut sections of steel I-beams and channels clogging the tank opening, according to workers with Sanford, N.C.-based PD Automation Inc., who were installing the tank.
Some of the material caked on the side of the tank apparently loosened and fell on Crider. "Something caused the load above him to shift, and it buried him," said Assistant Chief Tim Roberts of the Daviess County Fire Department.
Taxi driver killed in crash with man fleeing LA police
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- An attempted kidnapping suspect fleeing Los Angeles police in a pickup truck collided with a taxi early Thursday, killing the cabbie, authorities said.
Asatur Tokatlyan, 42, died en route to the hospital, said Kevin Maiberger of the Los Angeles Police Department. Tokatlyan lived in Hollywood with his wife and two children.