Sunday, July 23, 2006

Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

Worker Crushed By Falling Trailer

MEAD VALLEY, Calif. A trucker died after being crushed by a trailer he was working on. The accident occurred about 2 p.m. at a thoroughbred horse property in the 21800 block of Webster Avenue.

Jeremy Mattsen of Bajo Trucking was crushed when the double-wide mobile home trailer he was working on, shifted and fell on top of him. He suffered injuries to his head, chest and legs and died a short time later at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley.


California Investigating Second Possible Workplace Heat Death

Fresno County's first heat-related death of the summer may have occurred Thursday. The State Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board announced Monday it is investigating a Kerman work site death.

Benadino Gomez, a 49-year-old employee of Valley Pool Plastering in Fresno, died after working in 109-degree weather, according to the Cal/OSHA. He had worked for the company for four years.

Thirteen workers died of heat-related causes in California in 2005, and

Cal/OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said Gomez's death prompted the agency's second investigation of a possible heat-linked death this year. The agency also is investigating last week's death of a Bakersfield lawn service worker who had been on the job for three days.


Contractor becomes second death at Meijer in three days

Cincinnati, OH - A second person has died in three days at Meijer, 1500 Hillcrest Ave. Marek Lasota, 28, of Parma, was electrocuted early Thursday morning, according to Clark County Coroner’s Office investigator Roger Burk. Lasota was a contract worker doing electrical work on an elevated platform inside the store around 2 a.m., according to police reports. A witness heard a loud crash and called up to Lasota but got no response. Paramedics found him face down, unresponsive and not breathing on the platform with severe burns on both hands, indicating an electrocution, according to the report. An active circuit was found in the light fixture where Lasota was working, according to the report. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

An investigator from the Cincinnati area Occupational Health and Safety was in the store looking into the death throughout the day, OSHA Area Director Dick Gilgriest said. “You don’t normally think of retail stores as a high-hazard area,” Gilgriest said. Stacie Behler, Meijer vice president of Corporate Communications Public Affairs, said the store is cooperating with local officials in the investigation. “The store in particular recognizes the tragedy and hopes for the best for the young man’s family,” Behler said from Meijer headquarters based in Grand Rapids, Mich. This is the second death at Meijer this week. Brandyn Turner, 16, of Cincinnati, died after he was apparently hit by a delivery truck driven by his father, Randall Turner, on Tuesday afternoon.


BP contractor killed in accident at refinery, Man employed by JV Piping was pinned between a lift bucket, steel

Texas City, TX - A contract worker died Friday after an industrial accident at BP's Texas City refinery. The worker, who was employed by JV Piping, died when the lift bucket he was in got pinned against some structural steel, said BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell. "It appears that the basket was moving and as it was moving, he was pinned against some structural steel and suffered injuries related to that," Chappell said.


Pike man killed on surface mine

Freeburn, KY - A Pike County coal miner was killed Thursday when the road grader he was operating ran over him, officials said. 39, of Hardy, was pronounced dead about 8:50 p.m. at the Central Appalachian Mining Slate Branch surface mine at Freeburn, said Chuck Wolfe, spokesman for the Office of Mine Safety and Licensing. The accident was reported to OMSL at 8:30, an hour after the accident occurred, Wolfe said. A new law that went into effect last week requires mining companies to report an accident or life-threatening situation to mine safety officials within 15 minutes of the incident. “Whether this accident was properly reported will be a point of the investigation,” Wolfe said.


Construction worker killed at Anthem construction site


Henderson, NV - An accident Thursday at a construction site in the Anthem community in Henderson claims a life. A worker was killed at a site near Sun City Anthem Parkway and Preston Park at around 9 in the morning. Police say the man was killed when a water truck ran over him. OSHA is investigating the incident. No further information about the victim or the accident has been released yet.


Three possible heat related deaths in Kern County

Bakersfield, CA - The Coroner’s Office is investigating the deaths of three people as possible heat related deaths. Supervisor for the Coroner’s Division John Van Rensselaer said a Bakersfield gardener might have been the latest to die after being exposed to the heat. Cal/OSHA is also investigating the death of the man who may have died from exposure to heat Wednesday while working as a gardener. According to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency in Sacramento, Joaquin Ramirez, 38, died Wednesday night while on the job. He was an employee of Raul Hidalgo Lawn Services and Supervisor for the Coroner’s Division John Van Rensselaer said Ramirez had been loading grass clippings into a work truck in front of a home in northwest Bakersfield when he collapsed.


Worker crushed at Cumming mulching yard

CUMMING, GA - A man was crushed to death Thursday in Forsyth County when loose dirt collapsed and the machine he was operating overturned. Coroner Lauren McDonald III said the 51-year-old Gwinnett County man was packing dirt for a road at a mulching company on Shiloh Road. "The hill collapsed and the compactor rolled down the hill," McDonald said. "He was entrapped under the compactor. Co-workers found him under the compactor and extricated him with a loader." McDonald said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.


Construction accident kills man, 70

A Grand Prairie worker died from injuries suffered when a track hoe ran over him at a school elementary construction site Monday morning.

Francisco Iraheta, 70, of Grand Prairie walked behind a large Komatsu PC 300 LC track hoe at the Reba Cobb Elementary construction site, 4380 Thornhill Drive, and stepped onto the track hoe's back just as his son Juan Iraheta, 36, swung the cab around, according to a Frisco police report.

The quick movement knocked the older man off the machine and onto the ground. The son then began backing the vehicle up, not knowing his father was on the ground. Though he had looked in the track hoe's mirrors before turning around, he did not see his father behind him.

The son was signaled by the driver of a ready mix truck to stop and pull forward again.


Rig blast victim ID’d

GRAND ISLE, LA — A Teche Area man killed in an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday has been identified.

Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office officials said Jerry Fitch, 41, of St. Martinville, died in the accident.


Nighttime construction worker killed

A construction worker died Monday morning after being hit by a car while trying to cross U.S. Highway 290.

Police identified the man as Zeferino Velarde, 29. His shift had already ended and he was leaving work for the night.

It's not unusual to have workers on State Highway 130 in the middle of the night. It's expensive and sometimes dangerous to build a road that way, but it has one huge advantage -- it doesn't tie up traffic during rush hour.

Traffic along Highway 290 is usually fast and furious. But it ground to a halt just before 3:30 a.m. Monday when a Cadillac heading toward Austin struck a construction worker attempting to cross the highway.


Pawn shop worker found dead in Killeen fire

Killeen, TX - A 25-year-old Killeen pawn shop employee was found dead Friday after a fire at her workplace. Shortly after 1 p.m., Killeen fire and police personnel were called to Speedy Pawn Shop #1, 718 W. Rancier Drive, after receiving a call about a structure fire. When officers arrived, smoke was seen coming from the building and witnesses said an employee might be inside, according to Lt. Michael Click of the Killeen Police Department. Patrol officers tried to enter the building but were forced out by the heavy smoke, Click said. When firefighters arrived soon after, they went inside and found a body near the back of the store. The victim was identified as Kathy Parker, of Killeen. She was pronounced dead at the scene, Click said. A preliminary investigation determined that the fire appeared to be intentionally set, although Click said a final ruling will not be made until a full investigation is complete.


Was noise a factor in shooting death, Police study whether worker heard officer

Charlotte, NC - Noisy air conditioning could have played a role in the fatal police shooting of an on-duty telecommunications employee, according to police and people who work at cell phone tower sites. A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer on Thursday fatally shot Anthony Wayne Furr, 41, a father of two. The shooting followed a confrontation at the southeast Charlotte cell tower where Furr was working.Extreme weather suspected in death

Springfield, MO - The extreme heat Tuesday likely contributed to the death of a Phelps County man found dead on his tractor. Herman Eugene Willy, 75, a retired farmer, was found slumped on his tractor by a family member about noon Tuesday, according the Phelps County Sheriff's Department. Emergency responders were called to the scene but were unable to resuscitate Willy, who had a number of pre-existing medical conditions that may been exacerbated by the heat.


Construction Worker Killed Working In Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD -- WJZ.com has learned a construction worker has died after suffering injuries while on the job Tuesday.

The incident happened at Wimpey Minerals on 2120 Annapolis Road in downtown Baltimore shortly after 2 p.m. Officials say one man was killed and another taken to Shock Trauma after being trapped on a conveyor belt.

It's not certain yet how the worker died and how he became trapped on a conveyor belt.


Man dies in fall while cutting a tree

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. A Seneca County man is dead after falling from a bucket truck while cutting a tree.

Police in Seneca Falls say 52-year-old Douglas Reukauf of Ovid fell about 20 feet. He was trying to cut a branch at a job in Seneca Falls when the bucket bounced up and down and he fell out.


Palmer man dies after work site accident

Palmer, AK -- A 26-year-old Palmer man has died from injuries sustained in a work-site accident. Alaska State Troopers say Jedadiah Simac was hurt while working with heavy equipment near the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center Tuesday morning.


DMV inspector killed during test

OTAY MESA – A Department of Motor Vehicles inspector was killed while conducting a driving test yesterday.

The employee and the 23-year-old man taking the test were in a Toyota Corolla driving east on Palm Avenue at Picador Boulevard/Beyer Way at 1:40 p.m. when the accident occurred. The Toyota had stopped at the Otay Mesa intersection when it was struck from behind by a Buick sport utility vehicle in the same lane, police said.

The driving inspector was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified last night by the Medical Examiner's Office as David Gallegos, 32, of Chula Vista.


Pike County miner dies after being hit by his road grader

PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- A Pike County miner has been killed in a machinery accident, the second surface-mining death in Kentucky this week, state officials said yesterday.

John May, 39, of Hardy, a road-grader operator, was struck by his machine about 7:30 p.m. EDT Thursday as it rolled backward "at a high rate of speed" at Cam Mining's Slate Branch Mine at Freeburn, according to the state's accident report.


3 Sought After Worker Killed For No Apparent Reason

Orange County, FL -- Authorities in Orange County, Fla., are searching for three men who stormed into a business, robbed everyone inside, then shot and killed an employee for no apparent reason, according to a Local 6 News report.

Investigators said the men entered the Cash Register Auto Insurance building located on South Orange Blossom Trail just after 6 p.m. Friday and demanded money.

Police said as the men left the building, they opened fire and hit Anthony Ortiz, 22.


TRENCH COLLAPSE KILLS WORKER

State officials are investigating a trench collapse that killed one worker (Gerardo Martinez Birrueta, 25) and injured another at an Avondale job site.

The second worker was rescued and was taken to a Valley hospital for treatment of a leg injury, authorities said.

The industrial accident took place about 10:15 a.m. Monday in a trench, about 12 to 15 feet deep, at a site on Dysart Road, north of Thomas Road near Estrella Mountain Community College.

Officials did not immediately identify either victim or their employer, but said an investigation in under way.


Knott miner killed in rock collapse

HINDMAN (AP) - A Knott County miner was killed Tuesday when the highwall of a surface mine collapsed on him as he operated a drill, a state official said.

The body of Jason Mosley, 28, of Hindman, was recovered about 11 a.m. at the Hendrickson Equipment Inc., Smith Branch No. 1 mine near Hindman, said Chuck Wolfe, spokesman for the Office of Mine Safety and Licensing.


Worker killed Friday is identified

St. Louis, MO -- The construction worker crushed after high winds blew steel on him on Friday has been identified as Eric L. Foskett, 42, of High Ridge. St. Louis police say Foskett was a dump-truck driver working in the 7500 block of MacKenszie Road in Affton about 11 a.m. Friday. Wind toppled steel used to shore up trenches, pinning him in a trench.


Livery cab driver shot and killed Police treating this as an ambush robbery

Newark, NJ-- In Newark, there is a heart breaking story of the murder of a livery cab driver. The victim was new to this country, and was helping his family back home with money. Carolina Tarazona has the story.

Cops here believe Angel Calva may have actually been set up by his own attacker. He was shot and killed on the streets of Newark early this morning. He leaves behind two children.

He was found dead early this morning, shot inside of his cab while waiting to pick up a passenger on North Sixth Street in Newark. They got a call before midnight and the caller gave no call back number or destination.


Driver is killed after truck rolls over him

MAULDIN, SC - A tow truck driver has been killed after the dump truck he was trying to hook up rolled over him, authorities say.

John Michael Garrett, 49, died Thursday. Several workers said they saw him loading the truck, then returned to find him pinned underneath its back wheels, Greenville County deputy coroner Karie Cain said.

Mr. Garrett had worked for towing company Kellett's Korner for about 20 years, the coroner said.


Worker dies when former theater wall collapses

Southern Shores, NC -- A construction worker was killed Thursday when a structural wall fell on him in the Outer Banks, authorities said.

Emergency workers were on the scene of the industrial accident at the Marketplace Shopping Center in Southern Shores, N.C., where a former movie theater is undergoing renovation, WAVY-TV 10 reported.

The wall fell on the worker, trapping and killing him. The wall was part of the roof support system, and two large air conditioning units are situated on the roof adjacent to where the wall was located.


Worker dies in fall from drilling rig

FORT WORTH, TX — A roughneck whose harness was not attached to a safety line fell to his death from a drilling rig in northeast Fort Worth early Friday.

Charles Mannon, 38, of Fort Worth died about 3:15 a.m. at the drilling site in the 5500 block of Bailey Boswell Road, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office reported.

Mannon worked for Cheyenne Drilling, which is operating at the site through a contract with XTO Energy, said Mike Talmont, assistant area director for the Fort Worth office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.


Dairy Farmer Found Dead in Manure Pit

Fresno, CA -- A dairy owner died when his tractor sank into a manure pit, Fresno County authorities said Thursday.

Jose Iraizoz, 64, was riding his tractor between two open pits Tuesday when the wheels apparently slipped into about 5 feet of sludge. By the time help arrived, Iraizoz had been in the manure too long to have survived, Sheriff's Lt. Mark Padilla said.

His body was recovered Wednesday morning.


Flowery Branch father of four crushed while delivering pizza oven

Atlanta, GA -- It wasn't supposed to be a dangerous job.

Richard Hall Jr., a father of four who played bass guitar in his church band, died early Thursday while delivering a 1,750-pound pizza oven in Woodstock. Hall was killed just before 1 a.m. when the oven he was helping deliver to a Papa John's Pizza restaurant on Trickum Road fell off a truck lift and crushed him.

At the victim's Flowery Branch home, his father, Richard Hall Sr., was "still numb" after an all-night drive from Hollywood, Fla. He had never considered his son's job risky.


Worker who fell 20 feet dies

A man who fell through the skylight of an apartment building on Friday has died, according to Rochester police.

Tom Hill, 63, of Marion, Wayne County, was working on the roof at 1620 N. Clinton Ave., said Rochester police Lt. Frank Churnetski. Hill reportedly slipped and fell 20 feet through a skylight then into a stairwell about 9:30 a.m. Friday. Rochester police did not know when Hill died. The Medical Examiner's Office declined to release that information.


Mechanic dies after car reportedly rolls over him

OSHKOSH Wis. -- The owner of an auto-repair shop died after a vehicle he was working on apparently rolled over him, authorities said.

Gregory Koch, 41, owner of Greg's K-Care Auto Repair in rural Oshkosh, was pronounced dead Wednesday morning, said Sgt. Greg Cianciolo of the Winnebago County Sheriff's department.

Chuck Hable, the county's deputy coroner, said investigators believe Koch was working under the car when it started unexpectedly and rolled over him.


OSHA investigates city plant worker's death

Balttimore, MD --The Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death Tuesday of an assistant plant manager of a South Baltimore contracting firm after he became trapped inside a conveyor machine, city police said.

Raymond Lawrence Walk, 39, of the 8000 block of Wynbrook Road in North Point was performing routine maintenance work about 2 p.m. on a conveyor machine at P. Flanigan & Sons, in the 2100 block of Annapolis Road in Westport, when he became trapped and suffered head injuries, police said.

A second employee, who had been unable to contact Walk on a portable radio, entered the area and found him trapped between the conveyor system and a metal frame, police said.


Decatur worker dies after being burned in boiler explosion

DECATUR Ill. -- A 42-year-old Tate & Lyle Inc. utilities manager died Wednesday after suffering severe burns all over his body when a boiler exploded at the company's plant, officials said.

Matthew Laverty of Decatur died at 8:16 a.m., Sangamon County Coroner Susan Boone told the (Decatur) Herald & Review. Laverty had worked for Tate & Lyle, which manufactures renewable food and industrial ingredients, since 1998.

Laverty, along with another Tate & Lyle employee and a contract worker, was burned Tuesday afternoon when a boiler exploded at the Decatur plant, company officials said in a statement. All three were taken to St. Mary's Hospital before being airlifted to the burn unit at Springfield's Memorial Medical Center.


Florence man, 22, killed in accident

FLORENCE, CO - A 22-year-old worker died in an industrial accident Tuesday afternoon at Murco Dry Wall Products manufacturing plant.

Police were called to the manufacturing plant at 3120 S. Union at 5:36 p.m. Tuesday on the report of an industrial accident. Officers found that Richard Matthews of Florence had fallen into a railroad car containing crushed marble powder.

Florence volunteer firefighters pulled Matthews from the rail car. He was pronounced dead by Fremont County Coroner Dr. Dorothy Twellman, who estimated the time of death to be 5:15 p.m.

Cause of death was suffocation, and preliminary investigation indicates it was an accidental death. Results of a toxicology test are still pending, but results are not expected to shed any light on the incident, said Detective Tim Bell of the Florence police. "It was just a horrific accident," Bell said.


Backhoe accident kills landfill worker

Colton, CA -- An employee at a Colton landfill died Monday after his head was crushed by a backhoe, authorities said.

The man was throwing some chains onto the backhoe just before 9 a.m. when they fell and hit the controls of the vehicle, said Tom Debellis, a spokesman for the Colton Fire Department.

"Basically, it pinched his head in between the bucket of the backhoe and the backhoe itself," Debellis said.

The man, whose identity is being withheld until relatives are notified, was rushed to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.


Ponchatoula man died in shipyard accident

AVONDALE La -- A veteran employee of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s New Orleans-area shipyard was killed when a mast fell from a crane lift, the company said.

Leroy Pinion, 57, of Ponchatoula, was pronounced dead at the scene of Monday's accident, Northrop Grumman said in a new release. Another employee, whose name was not disclosed, was treated for injuries at a hospital and released, Northrop Grumman said.

Earlier Monday, Celestino Martinez, 50, was found unconscious about 8 a.m. aboard a ship under construction, the company said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Martinez, a Honduras native, had been employed with the shipyard since February 2005, the company said.


No cause known yet for fatal factory fire

CARTHAGE, OH - Fire investigators continued Monday to try to figure out what caused the fatal blaze at a fat-processing factory Saturday.

Killed in the fire were Uriel Martinez and Elman Marin Velasquez, 39. Martinez's age was not available, nor was a local address for either of the men. The coroner's office said Guatemala was listed as home for both victims.

Officials say four people were working at the Origo plant Saturday when the fire started. Nearby residents reported hearing many explosions. A thick black plume of smoke could be seen miles away in Kentucky.


Industrial Accident Kills Man In Moon Township

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A fatal industrial accident Wednesday in Moon Township claimed the life of a subcontractor working on a piece of heavy machinery, Channel 4 Action News reported.

The incident happened at the Petroleum Products Company when the machinery fell on the man, trapping him underneath. Todd Auman, 37, from Sunberry, Pa., died at the scene, authorities said.


Fall into sawmill kills Granby man instantly

Granby, CO - A 32-year-old Granby man was killed Thursday when he fell into an old-fashioned sawmill, Grand County authorities said

John Tuttle, an employee of Grand Lake Log Homes, was making adjustments to the 50-inch circular saw just before 10 a.m. when the accident occurred.

"Basically, they were fine-tuning a sawmill that they had moved to this location. [#x2026] The carriage kind of caught his leg and caused him to get pushed into the actual saw blade," said Grand County coroner Dave Schoenfeld.

Two other employees were at the new facility near the Granby airport, but neither saw what happened. Tuttle, who had worked for the company for three years, died instantly, Schoenfeld said.


COAL-PLANT CONSTRUCTION WORKER KILLED

Lexington, KY -- A 35-year-old Henderson construction worker was killed early Friday at Hopkins County Coal LLC's new Big Elk Creek Preparation Plant. Ed Fitzgerrel was pronounced dead at 8:49 a.m. at a Madisonville hospital, said Hopkins County Coroner John Walters. The cause of death was multiple blunt trauma caused when Fitzgerrel became trapped between a mechanical lift and the steel structure of the preparation plant, which is under construction. The body was taken to Benton-Glunt Funeral Home in Henderson. Mark York, spokesman for the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, said it was not clear yesterday whether Fitzgerrel would be classifed as Kentucky's 12th coal mining fatality of 2006; he was engaged in construction, not mining, and did not work for a mining company.


Man killed in blast at truck stop

CHEYENNE Wyo. -- A truck stop employee died Saturday in a blast that happened while he was cutting off the top of a 55-gallon drum with a blow torch, according to Laramie County sheriff's officials.

The identity of the 44-year-old employee of the Sapp Bros. truck stop a few miles east of Cheyenne was withheld pending family notification.

The explosion occurred around noon. Sheriff's Sgt. J.P. Hartigan said the man apparently ignited vapors inside the drum. The drum's lid struck the man in the face and chest.

Truck stop employees used a fire extinguisher to put out a fire in the drum. Hartigan said the drum was labeled "isopropanol xylene," which is an octane-boosting fuel additive. "My understanding was they were turning it into a trash can, making trash cans out of the barrels," he said.


Company asserts commitment to safety. Three employees of Thomas Industrial Coatings have fallen to their deaths this year.

St. Louis, MO -- The bridge-painting company that has lost three employees to falls this year said Friday it has long required the use of safety gear and will reassert that rule in a mandatory companywide meeting.

In a prepared statement, Thomas Industrial Coatings of Pevely also offered condolences to the families of the three men, one of whom died Wednesday in a fall from a bridge in Kansas City.

On Wednesday, Andy Wilson, 49, formerly of north St. Louis County, fell to his death from the Lexington Avenue bridge in northeast Kansas City. Dan Denzer, 47, of Pettigrew, Ark., died in a fall from the same bridge on May 10.

On Feb. 17, Jimmy Belfield, 39, of Cadet, Mo., died after a fall from the westbound Jefferson Barracks Interstate 255 bridge into the Mississippi River.

Two other Thomas employees died in falls from Missouri River bridges in the mid-1990s. The company was formed in the early 1990s and is a major regional bridge-painting contractor and subcontractor.


TRACTOR ACCIDENT KILLS FARMER

Syracuse, NY -- A 62-year-old Lewis County farmer was found dead Sunday night under his tractor in an apparent farming accident, state police said.

The name of the man was not released Sunday, pending notification of relatives.

Troopers said an acquaintance of the farmer found him dead about 8 p.m. on the farmer's land on Cataract Road in Denmark, about 95 miles northeast of Syracuse. The man apparently was riding his tractor on the side of a hill and it tipped over, crushing him, troopers said.


LA County sheriff's deputy dies in freeway traffic accident

ANAHEIM CA --A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was killed on the 91 Freeway in Anaheim in a collision with a big rig caused by a stove in the roadway, authorities said.

David Stan Piquette, 34, of Corona was killed Friday while driving a department-issued 2004 Ford Crown Victoria that ended up wedged between the two trailers of a truck loaded with dry cement, said sheriff's Sgt. John Hocking.

"There was a stove on the freeway and it isn't clear whether the truck swerved or he swerved to avoid it," Hocking said. The California Highway Patrol was investigating. Both vehicles crashed into a concrete wall along the westbound lanes of the freeway.


Man dies in accident at IPSCO Steel

Mobile, AL -- A man was killed in an industrial accident about 3 a.m. Friday at the IPSCO Steel mill off U.S. 43 in the Axis community of northeast Mobile County, authorities said.

The man's name and details of the accident were not available late Friday.


Town planner's death called 'a terrible loss'

MONCKS CORNER, SC - A good husband, a dedicated worker, a lover of nature and history, but more than anything, Michael Mitchum was a good father.

The Moncks Corner town planner was killed on the job Thursday afternoon when a man accused of driving without an S.C. license hit his parked car. Mitchum was getting out to inspect a job site when a van hit him.


Body of trucker killed in storms found

BINGHAMTON N.Y. -- Search teams found the body of a trucker who was killed when surging floodwaters carved a 150-wide chasm across Interstate 88 in Delaware County, Oneonta police said Saturday.

The body of Patrick O'Connell, 55, of Lisbon, Maine, was found at 9:50 a.m. Saturday near the Susquehanna River, in the Town of Sidney, 102 miles southwest of Albany.

The body was transported to Wilson Memorial Hospital in Binghamton. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning.

O'Connell's body was missing since the cab of his truck was found about a mile from the accident scene where a creek flows into the Susquehanna River and divers located the trailer nearly two miles downriver.


Maintenance contractor dies after shooting

Macon, GA -- A maintenance contractor died after being shot during a robbery Friday afternoon at the Avalon Gardens Apartments off Chambers Road in Bibb County.

Gary Sturdivant, 58, of Forsyth died during surgery at The Medical Center of Central Georgia at 5:31 p.m., Bibb County coroner Leon Jones said.

Sturdivant, of Forsyth, was preparing to pay his workers in cash at about 4:20 p.m. when he was robbed and shot in the shoulder by two men who came out of the woods behind the apartments and ran away on the same path, Bibb County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Smallwood said.


Rural Hutchinson man dies when caught in grain bin

HUTCHINSON Minn. -- A rural Hutchinson man died after getting stuck in a grain bin. The McLeod County Sheriff's Department said Keven Dettman, 55, got stuck around 9:30 p.m. Thursday on a farm west of Hutchinson.


Services set for Fresno officer killed in crash

A Sunday viewing for Officer Edward Brett Chan will be from noon to 6 p.m. at Miller Memorial Chapel, 1120 West Goshen Ave. in Visalia. Recitation of the rosary will follow at 7 p.m.

The funeral service will be held Monday at 9 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 608 N. Church St. in Visalia. A veteran Fresno police officer who died Saturday after a car traveled into the path of his motorcycle in Visalia will be put to rest next week.

A viewing for Officer Edward Brett Chan, 48, will be held Sunday at Miller Memorial Chapel in Visalia, followed by recitation of the rosary, according to a statement by law enforcement officials. Chan's funeral service will be held Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Visalia.


Worker's auto death points out road perils

Westminster, CO - Christopher Naeve died Saturday facing the same danger that nearly killed his sister six years ago.

Naeve was struck by a driver, as he was trying to make a busy highway safer for others. It's the same danger that every highway worker faces in Colorado.

"It's almost like we are expendable," Naeve's sister, Cathie Naeve, said Monday.

Christopher Naeve was working Saturday afternoon for his sister's highway-safety company on U.S. 85 near Sedalia. He was realigning orange barrels in a lane closed for construction when a 2000 Chevy Geo swerved into Naeve, knocking him off the roadway.


DEBRIS PINS, KILLS BUILDING WORKER

NEWPORT NEWS, VA -- A second-floor concrete patio collapsed after workers used a jackhammer on it, police said.

A 21-year-old Gloucester man was killed Monday during a construction accident at an apartment building in the midtown section of Newport News, police said.

Emergency dispatchers received word of an industrial accident at 10:05 a.m., and a police officer reached the scene about two minutes later, Newport News police spokesman Lou Thurston said.

The officer found Dennis Wayne Dameron II, an employee with Moffit Demolition, pinned under debris from a second-floor concrete slab patio that had collapsed. Paramedics arriving at the apartment building on Adams Drive, just east of Jefferson Avenue, pronounced Dameron dead at the scene, Thurston said.

An investigation indicated that other workers were using a jackhammer on the patio when it collapsed and pinned Dameron, Thurston said.


Copenhagen man killed in farm accident

Copenhagen, NY -- A weekend tractor accident took the life of an elderly Copenhagen man, according to State Police.

The body of Eric Patten, 62, was found beneath his tractor behind his barn at High Falls farm along Cataract St. in Copenhagen, police said.

They believe the accident happened Saturday but the victim wasn't found until Sunday evening. The discovery was made about 8 p.m. by a man Patten had hired to mow his lawn.

State Police told NewsWatch50 the victim was on a Farmall tractor going up a hill when it overturned.


Fairfield County man killed in logging accident

Columbus, OH -- A Fairfield County man was killed yesterday in a logging accident, according to the Fairfield County sheriff.

Sheriff Dave Phalen said it appears that Keith Conway, 51, of Thornville, had been fatally struck by a limb from a tree that had been hit by falling tree that Conway had just cut down.

Conway had been cutting down trees late yesterday afternoon on a property on E. Grubb Road near Indian Run Rd. Another man also logging on the property repeatedly tried to call Conway on his cell phone but the phone was not answered. The man then contacted 911.

Conway's body was later found by the other logger, and EMS personnel pronounced Conway dead at the scene.


Company ‘shocked and dazed’

JEANERETTE, LA — Employees of LCS Corrections Services were “shocked and dazed” as they returned to work Wednesday, the company’s president said.

“The whole office is a basket case right now,” said LCS President Patrick LeBlanc.

John Blackburn, of Jeanerette, and contract pilot Farrell Skelton, of Lafayette, were killed when the company’s twin-engine aircraft crashed into a mobile home Tuesday. The owner of the mobile home, Lucien Broussard, also was killed.


Semi driver killed in Marine Drive crash

Portland, OR -- Firefighters try to get into the severely damaged cab to extricate the driver.

A semi-truck carrying a load of crushed cars crashed on NE Marine Drive on Friday, trapping and killing the 49-year-old driver from Idaho, police said.

Firefighters had trouble cutting the driver out of the truck because the vehicle's cab was damaged so severely, said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau.


Driver dies after tanker overturns

NEWPORT, SC - A sewage tanker overturned on S.C. 274 on Thursday afternoon, killing the 52-year-old driver and causing about 20 gallons of waste to spill.

Paramedics needed an hour to remove the driver, identified as Knowlton Wilbert Windham Jr. of Lexington County. Windham, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene, said York County Deputy Coroner Ev Amick.

The road was closed for much of the afternoon as crews vacuumed the spill and loaded the sewage on another truck. Crews spread lime to control the odor and worked to contain diesel fuel that also leaked.

The truck may have struck a pot hole and lost control before traveling up an embankment and overturning around 1:50 p.m., officials said. Windham was traveling north when the wreck occurred near the Little Allison Creek bridge. No one else was hurt.


Crane falls, crushes man in St. Francisville

ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA — An 18-year-old Illinois man died Monday when he was crushed by the falling boom of a barge-mounted crane in the Mississippi River where a new bridge will be built, West Feliciana Parish Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said.

The sheriff identified the victim as Tristen Jett Hall, an employee of a consulting firm doing soil-boring work for the proposed John James Audubon Bridge between West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes.


Teen Killed In Work Accident; Father May Be At Fault

A teen was killed in a Springfield Meijer parking lot Tuesday, and investigators said the boy's own father may have caused the accident.

The 16-year-old boy was killed while working to unload large metal containers from the back of a trailer when he got stuck between a container and the wheel of the trailer.


Autopsy finds carnival worker was electrocuted on Ferris wheel

HOUSTON Mo. -- A carnival worker likely was electrocuted Friday while setting up a Ferris wheel, Texas County officials said Monday.

County Coroner Tim Whitaker said his office conducted an autopsy on Bradley Reinke, 34, over the weekend and found no evidence of contributing health problems. Reinke fell and got tangled up in a wire while setting up the Ferris wheel for Houston's July 4 celebration.


PARKING ATTENDANT CRASHES BIKE, DIES

New York, NY -- AN 18-YEAR-OLD parking attendant was killed yesterday when he crashed a motorcycle into a wall inside a Chelsea garage, cops said.

The Queens teen, whose name was not released, suffered a fatal head injury after losing control of the bike in the Icon Parking garage at 60 W. 23rd St. about 2:30 p.m., cops said. It was not clear if the motorcycle belonged to the victim or a garage client.

A woman who came to pick up her car found the body and dialed 911. The teen was pronounced dead at 2:40 p.m., cops said.


Merchant Found Slain in His Store

Washington DC -- A convenience store owner was found dead in his store in the District late last night, and police officers said they were investigating the death as a homicide.

Police said that after being called to the store in the 2000 block of First Street NW about 10 p.m., they found the man in the back of the store with blood nearby.

Family members who went to the scene in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Northwest Washington identified the merchant as Maurice L. Darnaby.

They said they understood that he had been killed in the A&L Market during a robbery. However, officers said they did not know a motive or how he was killed.


Police Officer, Suspect Die in Ga. Shootout

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- A police officer was fatally wounded in a foot-chase-turned-shootout that also killed the man he was pursuing at a cluster of apartment buildings where many Hurricane Katrina victims were relocated.

DeKalb County police Detective Dennis Carmen Stepnowski, 33, died Thursday at a hospital.

The name of the other man killed was not immediately released. A teenage neighbor said the man had gotten out of jail hours earlier. Another neighbor said the suspect had moved to Atlanta from New Orleans after Katrina.

Stepnowski and another officer were on patrol when they saw a man who seemed suspicious and chased him, police spokesman Sgt. Charles Dedrick said.

At some point during the chase, "shots were fired," Dedrick said, without elaborating on who fired first.


Worker Crushed To Death Under Skid Loader

HAMPSTEAD, Md. -- State police said a landscaping worker was killed Thursday when he was run over by a skid loader. The accident occurred around 4:30 p.m. at Outside Unlimited in the 4100 block of Saint Paul Road in Hampstead. Investigators said Joseph Miranda, 19, of Lutherville, stepped onto the skid loader to ask to use it. But the worker operating the machine was looking back while reversing it. He felt someone tap his shoulder and ask for the machine but was not aware that Miranda had stepped on and off the machine.


Witness to Trench Collapse Recalls Moments of Fright

The brothers were getting ready to head home Wednesday afternoon after spending almost eight hours excavating a nine-foot-deep trench in front of a large Potomac house so its foundation could be waterproofed.

It had been one of the hottest days of the year, but Samuel and Rigoberto Guevera were no strangers to backbreaking work. And they were less than 48 hours away from traveling to Ocean City for a family gathering.

Without warning and with barely a sound, the four-foot-wide trench collapsed, ramming Samuel, 25, and Rigoberto, 18, against the front wall of the two-story red brick house. The younger brother was almost completely submerged in the thick, moist soil they had spent hours digging, said Sergio Campos.

Samuel's face and hands were visible.


Family remembers roofer for love of family, soccer and hard work

AURORA, IL — Jose Vazquez saw the ad posted in the local Laundromat: roofing work for $100 a day. He had some experience with carpentry and no job, and so he made what turned out to be a fatal phone call. "That was the main reason he decided to call," his daughter Patricia Vazquez said Thursday. "He needed a reliable job." Vazquez, 52, fell to his death from the two-story roof of a home in the 400 block of Woodlawn Avenue Wednesday afternoon. According to the coroner's office, he suffered massive head trauma when his head struck the driveway, and he died at the scene. Although the family who lives in the Woodlawn home denied they hired him, Vazquez's family said he was called twice that morning, and he left in work clothes, carrying a water jug.


City tree trimmer falls to death

Oakland, CA - An Oakland tree trimmer died the morning of July 14 after falling about 30 feet from a maintenance truck, a city official said. It was the first public works death on the job in at least 15 years. At about 9:30 a.m., Alfredo Roman, 39, and three other crew members were doing routine maintenance trimming trees on the sidewalk along 10th Street between Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and Castro Street when Roman fell from the basket of the truck's hydraulic lift, known as a cherry picker. Roman was taken to Highland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said Karen Boyd, spokesperson for City Administrator Deborah Edgerly.


Barber Shop Employee Shot To Death

DECATUR, GA -- DeKalb County police are investigating the shooting death of a man who was closing a barber shop. The shooting happened just after 11 p.m. Thursday. Police say the man was at the Hall of Fame barber shop on Snapfinger Woods Drive and had gone out to put something in the trash. A man confronted him and pointed a gun at him. Police spokesman Herschel Grangent says the man was shot and later pronounced dead at a hospital.


Neb. Farmer Dies In Farming Accident

WALLACE, Neb. -- A 35-year-old Madrid man died in a farming accident this week. Authorities say Mark Doolittle was haying northeast of Wallace with his son and a hired man on Monday. Doolittle's son and the hired hand left to fuel the tractors. When they returned, they found Doolittle's tractor and baler, but could not see Doolittle. Lincoln County Sheriff Chief Deputy Jerry Wilson said Doolittle's son saw clothing rolling around inside the baler. The hired hand sent the boy away and found Doolittle's body inside the baler.


Worker crushed in Coraopolis

Coraopolis, PA - A construction worker died in Coraopolis yesterday when a hydraulic press he was helping to move fell on him. Todd Aumen, 37, of Sunbury, Northumberland County, died instantly around 3:30 p.m. when the press crushed him, the Allegheny County medical examiner's office said. Mr. Aumen worked for the Raker Construction Co., based in Sunbury. He was working on Throne Street in Coraopolis when the machine fell on him. It was unclear how the accident happened. An autopsy was scheduled for today. Allegheny County homicide detectives were investigating the incident last night.


Elephant From Madison Kills Handler In Tennessee, Elephant Spent 30 Years In Madison

MADISON, Wis. -- An elephant that once called Madison's Henry Vilas Zoo home has been blamed for a deadly attack. The elephant named Winkie was moved to a Tennessee sanctuary six years ago after run-ins in Madison. Now sanctuary workers are trying to find out what sparked the latest attack that killed a handler. Reports from Tennessee said that Winkie, a 40-year-old, 4-ton Asian elephant attacked and killed a handler at an elephant sanctuary. Tennessee wildlife officials said the female handler was either kicked or stepped on by the elephant and killed immediately on Friday. Another male worker was hospitalized with injuries after trying to save his colleague, WISC-TV reported.


Construction worker killed on Staples Mill

Richmond, VA - A worker helping lay new asphalt in a Virginia Department of Transportation work zone was killed last night when a dump truck accidentally backed over him on Staples Mill Road, state police said.

Dwayne Lynne Oakley, 21, of Nelson, Va., died at the scene of the 11 p.m. accident, about 100 feet west of Hermitage Road. Oakley was an employee of Lee Hy Paving Corp., which was laying asphalt on Staples Mill Road. The dump truck driver, Billy F. Wright, 23, of Ashland, works for Jones & Jones Inc. of Rockville, police said. Sgt. Kevin Barrick, a police spokesman, said the truck driver was already in the workzone and stopped when he was directed to reposition his vehicle. "Another guy was actually directing the truck to back up, and [the victim] apparently wasn't paying attention and the truck just backed over him," Barrick said. Oakley was wearing a reflective vest but the trucker couldn't see behind him. "It was dark and the trucks were coming and going, emptying their load and then going to geet more," Barrick said.


Farmer Killed After Falling From Tractor

HICKORY RIDGE, Ky. -- A farming accident has resulted in the death of an Edmonton man. Metcalfe County Deputy Coroner Larry Wilson says 67-year-old Carl Brown was killed late Tuesday while mowing with a tractor equipped with a bush-hog. Wilson says Brown was mowing on a hillside off Kentucky 496 when he apparently lost control of the tractor and was thrown off, his legs becoming entangled in the bush-hog. The victim's body was found by family members.


Charges Resolved In Case Of Officer Killed In Pursuit

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A woman charged in connection with the death of an Oklahoma City police officer while chasing a stolen motorcycle is being given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to harboring a fugitive.

Sierra Avants pleaded guilty to the felony charge that she helped Kyle Grider elude police after the crash that killed police Sgt. Jonathan Dragus.

Dragus was chasing Grider in northwest Oklahoma City last October when he crashed his patrol car.


2 murder warrants issued in Quik Mart case

Tucson, AZ - Tucson police have issued first-degree-murder warrants for two men and are looking for a teen- ager in the case of a Quik Mart clerk killed during a robbery on Saturday, officials said Monday. Meanwhile, a Quik Mart official said the clerk, Christopher Cottle, 50, may have violated company policy when he went after three people who stole beer from the East Side convenience store. Cottle was working at the Quik Mart at 3499 S. Wilmot Road when three males came in and went directly to the cooler area, said George Feulner, attorney for Quik Mart, which is headquartered in Tucson Surveillance footage shows each robber grabbing an 18-pack of beer and walking out of the store, and then Cottle following them outside, Feulner said... It was outside, where there are no surveillance cameras, that the shooting occurred early Saturday, just after midnight. More here.


Pile of Formica falls, kills Yonkers man

YONKERS, NY — A 63-year-old city man was killed when a pile of Formica sheets fell on him in a shed behind his home, police said. Julio Garcia of 102 Clinton Place was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers, Capt. Joseph Barca, a police spokesman, said today. Garcia was working with another man in the shed about 4:30 p.m. Sunday when 13, 10-foot-by-5-foot pieces of Formica that were leaning against a wall fell on him, knocking him to the floor. Unable to move the pile, the unidentified man called for help on a cell phone, police said. Police arrived and Garcia was taken to the hospital, about two blocks away. He was pronounced dead at 4:57 p.m.


Worker Dies In Industrial Accident

New Cumberland, WV - A fire at a Hancock County industrial plant left one worker (Mark Mcabee) dead Tuesday. The broke out at the Jamegy Plant in New Cumberland just after 1 p.m. Police confirmed that one worker was killed in the blaze, but the victim's name has not been released. The fire started in the production section of the plant, but OSHA is still trying to determine exactly what started the blaze. Police said only about seven of the plant's 20 employees were working at the time of the accident. No one else was injured. The small plant, which processes scrap materials, has been the site of three fires since the 1990s. Plant officials have currently shut down operations and are working with investigators to try and determine exactly what went wrong.


Truck driver killed in accident identified

San Antonio, TX - Authorities have identified a man who was killed on Monday when an 18-wheeler he was driving crashed through a guardrail on an exit ramp to Loop 410 South. William Earl Barrett Jr., 41, of Round Rock was killed when the truck fell more than 30 feet to the access road below and burst into flames, causing the truck's cab to disintegrate, the report said. The rig, hauling a trailer filled with computer parts, skidded into the guardrail around 9:16 a.m. as it was going from I-35 to Loop 410, according to a police report.


Police told NBC 10 that the shooting was an attempted robbery.

Philadelphia, PA - Police said a taxicab driver was shot to death early Monday morning in West Philadelphia. The cabbie was pumping gas at a service station when someone walked up to him and shot him in the back of the head. He was pronounced dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Police told NBC 10 that the shooting was an attempted robbery.


Beams crush Hammond steelworker

HAMMOND, Ind. -- The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating the death of a steelworker. David Pineda, 49, of Hammond, was fatally injured Wednesday when steel beams fell on him at the Macsteel Service Centers USA plant. He was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday in the St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers emergency room, the Lake County Coroner's office said. Pineda had worked at the plant for five years, relatives said.

He was hit by several steel beams but was conscious after the accident, company officials said. The plant shut down operations and began an investigation immediately, they said. An Indiana OSHA inspector arrived at the plant Thursday morning to investigate the accident, said Tim Grogg, assistant commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor.


2 highway workers struck and killed

HATFIELD, Ind. - An 82-year-old man drove his pickup truck through a road construction zone in southern Indiana, killing two workers holding a stop sign, police said. David Terry, 49, of Tell City, was pronounced dead Thursday at the scene. Danita Hall, 35, of Paoli, died later at an Owensboro, Ky., hospital. The driver of the car, Donald Coffey, of Owensboro, was arrested on two counts of reckless homicide, police said. The crash Thursday afternoon along Indiana 66 about 20 miles east of Evansville. The two workers were standing several feet off the roadway, holding a stop sign to control traffic that had been reduced to one lane for ditch and road repair, Spencer County Coroner Bob Dooley said. "Both of them were standing there talking. He just came up and just hit them," Dooley said. Terry and Hall both suffered massive internal injuries, he said. The two workers were thrown several feet in the crash and it was unclear whether Coffey saw them. Coffey was being held without bond in the Spencer County Jail pending a court appearance. The road was closed for six hours while investigators reconstructed the wreck.


Surveillance photos released in video store killing

GREENSBORO, NC — An adult video store clerk was shot and killed early Monday during an apparent robbery, police said. Authorities caught the crime on surveillance footage. The clerk, identified as David Lynn Cox, 52, of Greensboro, was discovered by a co-worker at the I-40 & Randleman Video & News. Cox was the only person inside the store when the shooter walked up to the counter about 3:30 a.m., police Capt. Gary Hastings said. The co-worker who found Cox moments later near the counter had just returned from a break. The killing marks the 10th homicide investigation of 2006 for city police, two killings fewer than at this time a year ago. It is the second time since February that someone has been killed along the stretch of Randleman Road north of the interstate.


Oakland City Employee Falls To His Death

Oakland, CA-July 14 - BCN - A longtime Oakland public works employee fell to his death this morning from a city tree trimming truck. The Alameda County coroner's office identified him as Jose Alfredo Roman Aguilera, 38, of Oakland. Known to his coworkers as Alfredo Roman, he had worked in the tree services division of the Oakland Public Works Agency for nine years. City officials said Roman fell about 30 feet from the truck at about 9:30 a.m. He was among four crewmembers trimming trees along the 10th Street sidewalk between Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and Castro Street.


Yosemite Worker Found Dead In Possible Climbing Accident

Yosemite, CA-The body of a California Conservation Corps worker was found Friday half-way down one of Yosemite National Park's most popular climbing routes, park officials said Saturday. National Park Service authorities said search crews found the body of Mike Gresham, 24, of Eureka, Montana Friday on the Royal Arches, a series of 1,500-foot half circles formed on the north wall of the Yosemite Valley.


Telephone worker killed in traffic accident

Millsboro, DE-A telephone repair man was killed today when a car involved in a collision moments before slammed into him as he worked. The Verizon employee, Larry K. Pruett, 43, was repairing a service box near the intersection of northbound U.S. 113 and Old Landing Road in Millsboro about 11 a.m. when the accident occurred, police said. Millsboro police said Tyrone Drummond, 37, of Frankford, was passing on the shoulder when his vehicle struck the front of a car driven by Joyce M. Dukes, 51, of Laurel, who was merging onto northbound U.S. 113, police said.


Dillon utility worker dies on the job

Sheridan, MT - A linesman for NorthWestern Energy died on the job last week, but company officials are not providing any details about what happened. 33 year-old Curtis Williams, of Dillon, was killed while working Thursday near Sheridan in Madison County. Williams was employed as a journeyman lineman, whose duties included working with power lines. NorthWestern spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch says she can't disclose any details, because Williams' death is still under investigation. Utility officials are also still awaiting the results of an autopsy. Rapkoch says no other employees were injured in the incident. The Madison County coroner could not be reached for comment; and a deputy coroner did not return a reporter's phone call.


Two found dead in PSL café

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL — A registered sex offender shot and killed a 17-year-old girl and then himself inside a café Saturday morning in what police believe was a murder-suicide. After an hourlong standoff, police found Scott David Uslan, 42, of the 500 block of Chapman Avenue, dead inside the Tropical Smoothie Café, 314 S.E. Port St. Lucie Blvd., along with Brittany Carleo, of the 2200 block of Montauk Street, who was a café employee. Witnesses told police Uslan entered the restaurant around 9:15 a.m. armed with a handgun. Two other employees were able to escape, leaving behind Carleo. The café employees and patrons of the surrounding shopping center then called 911 after hearing what they thought were gunshots. An officer responded from police headquarters across the street. The officer believed there might be injured people in the building and called in the SWAT team, said police spokesman Officer Rob Vega.


Father, town worker killed on duty

Wakefield, MA - The town of Wakefield is mourning this week, after a town worker and father of four was killed while working on Lowell Street. Mark A. Delory, 39, was killed last Friday night, June 24, after a car crashed into him, pushing him into another vehicle. He leaves behind a wife, four school-age children and a large circle of friends and family. “He was always laughing, having a good time, but he was a hard worker too,” said Bill Wallace, manager of the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department, where Delory worked.


Hotel Charged After Teen Employee Dies In Wreck

GREENSBURG, PA -- A Westmoreland County hotel is charged with violating state child labor laws following the death of a teenager who had been clocked in for 16 hours.

The state Department of Labor and Industry charged Hospitality Group Services, which operates the Ramada of Historic Ligonier, on Wednesday.

Sean Nemcheck, 17, who was from Cook Township, was killed on his way home the morning of February 19th, when his truck crashed.

The state prohibits minors from working more than eight hours a day or from working beyond 1 am on Saturdays, among other things.


Worker fatally shot at eatery

Chicago, IL-A manager of a fast-food restaurant was shot to death Sunday during an apparent robbery on Chicago's South Side, police said. Antoinette Means, 19, of 8400 S. Colfax Ave., was shot about 5:15 p.m. inside the KFC restaurant at 83rd Street and South Chicago Avenue.


Man killed in crash that closes I-77

CANTON, OH – A Canton man was killed after losing control of a loaded gravel truck and crashing on I-77. The messy wreck tied up northbound traffic for several hours Wednesday. Another motorist, Zack Thompson, said he followed the gravel truck from Massillon, recording erratic driving on his cell phone before the truck smashed into a concrete barrier and overturned near Dueber Ave. SW around noon. “I felt kind of guilty, because he told me to help him, and I couldn’t help him” because he was so severely injured, Thompson said. The truck’s driver, Jeffery Lynn Lewis, 42, of 6th St. SW, was pronounced dead at the scene.