Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

A partial list of workers killed in American workplaces over the last several weeks.

Worker dies after trench collapses

Greenwich, CT - A 59-year-old groundskeeper died yesterday afternoon following a trench collapse at a northwest Greenwich country club. "Employees of Tamarack Country Club were working on a drainage pipe and part of the trench collapsed on two of the employees," police Lt. James Heavey said. One worker was able to free himself from under the pile of dirt and went to help the second man along with other employees on the job site, authorities said. Police, firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after 1 p.m. and found workers performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the injured groundskeeper. Paramedics took the man to Greenwich Hospital, where he died, Heavey said.


Worker dies after five-story fall in Roxbury

Boston, MA -- A worker died today after falling five stories at a construction site in Roxbury this morning, according to police and an official from the worker's company. The man, whose name was not released, was rushed to Boston Medical Center in critical condition. He later died, an official from the worker's company said this afternoon. The man fell at about 11:20 a.m. Police are currently investigating at the scene near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also at the construction site.


Four arrested in death of Lawton cab driver

LAWTON, Okla. - Lawton police say four teenagers are in custody in the weekend shooting death of a cab driver. Officers say 19-year-old Delarenta Burton was arrested for murder in the death of John Thomas Lamb. Officers arrested 19-year-old Elijah Davis, 18-year-old Caprisha Davis and 19-year-old Donald Hood as material witnesses. Police Lieutenant William Grimes says Lamb was found dead in his cab at an apartment complex early Saturday with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Investigators believe Burton called for the cab then killed Lamb and stole his wallet. Grimes says security video led police to an apartment at the complex where they found Lamb's wallet.


All lanes open on I-64 after deadly crash

All lanes are now open on Interstate 64 remains in York County after a deadly crash that claimed the life of a truck driver. Virginia State Police say it happened around midnight near the Busch Gardens exit.

The truck, which was hauling produce, flipped over, blocking the lanes and killing the driver. State police have the lanes blocked while they reconstruct the accident to try and figure out what happened. Investigators say the truck driver was trying to avoid a construction vehicle when he crashed.


Trucker Killed In Unusual I-65 Crash

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- A truck driver was killed in an unusual crash, according to police, on Interstate 65 downtown Thursday morning that backed up traffic for several miles. The crash happened after 7 a.m. when the driver of a tractor-trailer that was carrying a load of steel pipes stopped abruptly in the northbound lanes just north of Raymond Street. When the trailer stopped, the load shifted, sending the pipes crashing through the back of the cab and killing the driver, James Surrena, 38, of Lorain, Ohio. Investigators said the load was not properly secured. Traffic was backed up for at least three miles as workers cleaned up the crash site.


Workers killed on rails were loyal family men

Woburn, MA - Christopher Macaulay and James Zipps loved working on the railroad, and they never considered any other career s , friends and family said yesterday. Macaulay was drawn to trains at an early age -- his father was an Amtrak conductor -- said Michael Blakemore, who described himself as Macaulay's best friend. Zipps joined the railroad at 21, following in the footsteps of several childhood friends, said his brother, Richard Zipps. Macaulay, 30, of Brentwood, N.H., and Zipps, 54, of Lowell, were killed Tuesday afternoon when a commuter train barreled into their maintenance vehicle parked on MBTA tracks in Woburn. While investigators yesterday continued to sort out the events leading to the deaths, friends and coworkers visited the mourning families to offer condolences.


Warsaw ‘cab guy’ killed in car crash

Warsaw, IN - A Warsaw cabdriver who died in a one-car car crash late Tuesday was a hard-working man whose grizzly-like appearance belied a tender heart, according to a longtime friend. Roger L. Calvert, 49, was driving a 1996 Chrysler van southeast on North Lake Street near Fox Farm Road on the west edge of Warsaw about 11 p.m. when he drove off the northeast edge of the road, Kosciusko County police said. The van traveled over two small parking lots before it crashed through a fence and struck several propane tanks at AmeriGas, located along North Lake Street.


Construction Worker Killed in Fort Valley

Fort Valley, GA - A construction worker was killed in Fort Valley during an accident at the job site. The man was working for Garrison Construction near Highway 49 North in Fort Valley when police say there was an accident involving a backhoe. The accident happened this morning after 7:00 am. The victim was taken to Peach Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The man has not yet been identified because police are trying to notify his family. The driver of the backhoe has submitted to a blood test and at this time no charges have been filed.


Two Arrested In Killing Of Tenn. Trooper

Nashville, TN - Officer Killed After Traffic Stop; Suspects Arrested At Hotel Near Nashville. State officials said Sunday they had arrested two people they believed were responsible for the killing of a state trooper who was shot during a traffic stop in western Tennessee. The 24-year-old trooper pulled over two men and was trying to get them out of the vehicle Saturday night when he was shot twice, according to footage from the patrol car's video camera. At least one bullet struck him in the head, said Mike Browning, a Department of Safety spokesman. On Sunday, two men were “arrested without incident” at a hotel near downtown Nashville, said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson. TBI director Mark Gwin said “after interviewing the two men we feel confident we have the two people in custody that murdered the state trooper.” Hunters found Trooper Calvin Jenks' body beside his patrol car near the intersection of state highways 14 and 54, Browning said.


Tractor accident kills Union Co. man

LIBERTY, Ind. — A Union County man was killed Saturday in a farm tractor accident. Joe Thibaut, 38, of Industrial Park Road, was dead at the scene after he was run over by a large, dual-wheel tractor, Union County Coroner Bill Havens said. The accident occurred around 6 p.m. on a farm at 5420 E. State Road 44, Havens said. Thibaut and farmer Steve Posco were trying to jump start a Case Agri King tractor using another vehicle, Havens said. When the tractor started, it lunged forward, knocking Thibaut underneath the rear wheels, Havens said. Thibaut died from trauma to the chest and head, Havens said. Union County Deputy Dale Dishmond said the accident remains under investigation.



Fallen officer honored

BONHAM, TX — Silence and sobs spoke volumes Sunday night around the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office as people clung to each other for support. They were there to honor a fallen officer, Fannin County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rahamy Mitchell. Fannin County Deputy Rahamy Mitchell, 38, died early Sunday in the line of duty. Mr. Mitchell and other deputies responded to a 1:15 a.m. call for help from Leonard police regarding a disturbance in progress. Mr. Mitchell was “going code,” which is a word used to describe in a hurry, traveling on State Highway 11. He never made it to Leonard.


McKinney pilot killed in plane crash

Batesville, Ark. - Independence County Sheriff's Office officials, of Batesville, Ark., confirmed that a McKinney husband, father and pilot was one of two Texas men who died in a plane crash last Thursday. Capt. Bill Lindsey, of the ICSO, confirmed that Craig Meyer, 26, of McKinney, and Joel Diffie, 40, of Terrell, were found around 1 p.m. Friday in the wreckage of a plane crash a mile east of the Batesville Regional Airport. Their plane, a Cessna 182-R operated by Barr Air Patrol LLC of Mesquite, which conducts aerial inspections of oil pipelines for Exxon-Mobil, was reported missing Thursday afternoon after it left Joliet, Ill., headed for Beaumont. The last contact with the plane occurred in Ripley County, Mo. The cause of the crash is still under investigation by the ICSO and the National Transportation Safety Board.


Family mourns loss of ferry worker

GRAFTON, IL -- A city is mourning the loss of one of its own, killed on the Grafton Ferry two days ago. Raymond Eugene "Gene" Ready, 62, died on Saturday afternoon doing his job. Ready died from injuries he suffered when a sport utility vehicle leaving the ferry struck and killed him. Ready died doing what he loved. "He loved working and he loved being around people," Lori Crowe, Ready’s stepdaughter, said. Authorities were notified at about 4:34 p.m. that a pedestrian had been hit by a Land Rover Range Rover deboarding the ferry. The Jersey County Coroner’s Office pronounced Ready dead at the scene at 4:45 p.m. The Jersey County Sheriff’s Department, the Grafton Police Department, Jersey County Ambulance, QEM Fire and Rescue, Illinois State Police, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene.


Employee found dead at restaurant

CLINTON, S.C. Police are questioning someone today in the death of a worker whose body was found in a Burger King restaurant. Clinton Public Safety director John Thomas says 27-year-old Richard Allen Wideman of Laurens was found this morning lying on the floor in the back of the restaurant. Wideman had been shot three times and a had a knife wound across his throat. Thomas would say only that investigators are interviewing a (quote) "person of interest." Thomas says Wideman may have known his assailant. There was no evidence of a break-in.


Employee Of Supplier Transporting Hydrogen Killed in Explosion at Muskingum River Plant

COLUMBUS, Ohio, -- An explosion this morning at American Electric Power's Muskingum River power plant killed an employee of a supplier delivering hydrogen to the plant. The identity of the victim, who worked for General Hydrogen, is not available at this time. The cause of the 9:20 a.m. explosion is unknown and under investigation, but the plant boilers were not involved, and the explosion was outside the walls of the plant. The plant has five generating units. Four of the units are still operational. Unit 5 is offline pending the investigation of the explosion. The plant is located near Beverly, Ohio. Nine AEP employees were transported to five local hospitals for evaluation and treatment of injuries. None of the injuries is life threatening.


Fellow officers mourn loss of friend

PATERSON, NJ -- The Franklin family, well-known for their contributions and sacrifices to this city, made the ultimate one early Sunday morning; their son, Tyron D. Franklin, was killed in a robbery attempt just a week shy of his 24th birthday. Franklin's death had an impact on many lives in Paterson -- first and foremost those of his family and the 16-month-old son he left behind. But the city's uniformed services were also hit hard: both the police department Franklin served as a rookie patrolman and the fire department his father, Larry Franklin, retired from as the first black captain in the department's history.


Probe Underway at Georgia Plant

DALTON, Ga. -- Dalton firefighters on Monday continued to extinguish small pockets of fire, more than 48 hours after the start of a blaze that killed an employee and gutted much of a business here. Dalton Fire Chief Barry Gober said investigators likely would begin combing through rubble today at Columbia Recycling Corp. at 1001 Chattanooga Ave. "In my 28 years with the fire department, this is a top 10 major loss," he said. "In scope, size and scale, it's a major loss." Leonel Delgado, 22, who was working at the textile waste recycling firm when the fire broke out early Saturday, died of smoke inhalation, Whitfield County Coroner Bobbie Dixon said.



Market's clerk shot in head, Victim in attempted robbery in North Side stabilized after surgery

Richmond, VA - An employee at Hanes Market & Deli in Richmond's North Side was shot in the head last night during a robbery attempt after another store worker struggled with the gunman, Richmond police said. Medics rushed the victim to VCU Medical Center after the 8:41 p.m. shooting inside the store at 3008 Hanes Ave, at the corner of West Brookland Park Boulevard. At the scene, shortly after the shooting, Richmond police supervisor Capt. Michael Shamus said the victim's wound appeared to be life-threatening. Late last night, Shamus reported the victim was out of surgery and stabilized. "Very fortunate," Shamus said.


City Employee Killed In Ice Storm

A 25-year-old Houston city employee was killed when he was hit by a car while helping guide traffic around another traffic accident.


Delta man dies in mine accident

SOMERSET, CO — A Delta coal miner died in an accident Saturday in the Elk Creek Mine near Somerset, according to Delta County Coroner Chalmer Swain. Swain identified the victim as 26-year-old Jeremy Garcia. Jim Cooper, executive vice president of Oxbow Mining, the owner of the Elk Creek Mine, said he had spent much of the weekend with Garcia’s family. He was married and had two young children, Cooper said. Garcia had 2 1/2 years of experience as an underground miner and had worked at the Elk Creek Mine since September as a utility man on the continuous miner section, Cooper said. The accident occurred about 12:30 p.m. when Garcia went to an area where supplies are stored to get some wire screen that is used for roof support to keep small materials from falling on miners, Cooper said. According to a press release from Oxbow, when Garcia cut the metal band securing the screen material to the mine wall to get a portion of it, the whole bundle fell on him. “When the miner cut the metal band holding the bundle of screen together, it released outward striking him,” a press release from Oxbow stated.


Guard dies at Deseret Depot

UT - A 26-year employee of Deseret Chemical Depot collapsed and died Sunday at noon in the facility's parking lot. Terry Stonebreaker, 56, of Lehi worked at the depot as a security guard. He had just finished his shift when he collapsed. Emergency personnel were called in and he was taken to Mountain West Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Stonebreaker leaves behind a wife and three children. Alaine Southworth, spokeswoman for the depot, said Mr. Stonebreaker suffered from an undisclosed medical condition.


Worker Dies At Bonaventure Country Club

BONAVENTURE, FL - A worker at the Bonaventure Country Club died after the tractor he was driving ran into a lake at the golf course. The landscaping contractor was mowing the lawn, when the tractor he was using tipped over, dumping him into the water. The Broward Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident. They don’t know how long the victim had been in the water before other workers at the golf course found him inside the lake. Paramedics transported him to Broward General Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The victim’s name has not been released. The golf course is located at 200 Bonaventure Blvd.


Remembering the life of Officer Fumiatti

New Haven, CT - Officer Robert Fumiatti grew up in West Haven. His father was also in law enforcement as a detective on the New Haven police department. Fumiatti graduated from West Haven high school in the late 80's. He was a hockey player on the varsity squad. That love for the ice stayed with him as an adult he coached the boys hockey team for Amity high school. His positive spirit is remarkable considering what he's been through. For the last five years officer Fumiatti's life was full of challenges. In June of 2002 Fumiatti was shot in the line of duty. A drug raid in New Haven turned violent, a suspected drug dealer shot the officer in the face and neck. With prayers and medical technology Fumiatti fought back. Spending months in recovery enduring a long battle both physically and mentally. One of the bullets forever lodged in his brain, a pacemaker monitoring his heart.


Fallen Indiana Firefighter Smothered

Forte Wayne, IN - Upland volunteer firefighter Sidney Hall died after being deprived of oxygen while trapped inside a burning house last week, the Allen County coroner announced Tuesday. Hall, 52, died following a Wednesday house fire at 7056 E. 100S. He fell through a floor and was trapped, perhaps for as long as 20 minutes, before being rescued. He died Thursday at Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, where he was flown following the fire. Dick Alfeld, the chief investigator for the Allen County coroner's office, said the official cause of Hall's death was hypoxia and asphyxiation due to position. "Basically, he couldn't breathe because he had pressure on his chest," Alfeld said. "It was an accident."


Employee fatally shot outside Mount Pleasant newspaper office

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — A 30-year-old newspaper advertising representative was shot to death Tuesday in a parking lot outside the Morning Sun offices after police said she was rammed and flipped over in her vehicle. Police said they later arrested Thomas Daniel Babb, 37, in the death of his wife, Mary Lynn Babb, after he drove into a ditch near Evart in Osceola County. Police said the victim had a personal protection order against her estranged husband. Authorities said they believe Thomas Babb was waiting outside the Morning Sun offices about 4:30 p.m. when his wife drove her sport utility vehicle into the parking lot, the Mount Pleasant newspaper reported. Witnesses told police the suspect then rammed Mary Babb's SUV with his pickup truck, pushing her vehicle across the parking lot and causing it to roll over onto its top.


Driver killed in tractor-trailer crash

Joplin, MO - Edward F. McMurray, 67, of El Dorado Springs died when his tractor-trailer cab went off the road and caught fire Monday in Newton County, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. His southbound 1997 Kenworth reportedly went into a median between two bridges, vaulted into a creek bed and caught fire. The crash was reported after 1:15 p.m. on U.S. 71, five miles south of Joplin.


Family of city worker killed on the job to file suit

Houston, TX- The family of a City of Houston worker killed during Wednesday’s bad weather has hired an attorney and plans to file suit. The accident happened on Highway 59 at San Jacinto River in north Harris County. Police say Jerry Hines was operating a sand truck when he and his partner spotted an accident. Hines attempted to direct traffic around the accident when another came along and hit him, sending him over the San Jacinto River Bridge. Hines had worked for the city for 14 months. He leaves behind a wife and one-month-old baby.


NC officer dies during foot pursuit

HOPE MILLS, N.C. -- A North Carolina police sergeant died Thursday after collapsing while chasing a suspect. Authorities say Sergeant James Keith Hardin, 34, was running along US 301 at the time with a K9 and another officer. According to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s watch commander, suspect Ricky Allen Wilson, Jr., was captured on Thursday at 5:25 p.m. He was wanted on a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized use of motor vehicle. He’s now also charged with felony speeding to elude arrest. Hardin, who had been promoted from corporal to sergeant in July, is survived by his wife, Shelly, and two children.


Worker found shot to death at car dealership

North Lawrence, NY - The day after one of the top salesmen at a North Lawrence car dealership was shot dead, detectives Friday said they had no motive or suspect in the killing. Nassau police said Collin Thomas, 27, of Jamaica, Queens, was shot once in the back about 8:50 p.m. Thursday, shortly before he was to help close Universal Auto World on Burnside Avenue. Investigators combed the site for clues Friday, cordoning off the entire block with tape and allowing canine units to sniff the fleet of pre-owned luxury cars and sport utility vehicles. "At this point in time, our investigation is in its infancy stages," said Det. Lt. Michael Fleming, commander of the homicide squad, who said relatives and friend of Thomas were interviewed Friday. "We do know he was shot once in the back. That was a fatal shot."


Two killed in fiery Van Nuys plane crash

NORTH HILLS, CA - Two pilots died Friday in a ball of flames when their corporate jet crashed after taking off from Van Nuys Airport, authorities said. Witnesses watched in horror as the twin-engine Cessna Citation "wobbled" before banking away from homes and plummeting into a grassy lot north of the airport just before 11 a.m. Some saw a baggage door open during takeoff. Others saw a man jump out of the plane just before it crashed.


Man Killed by Forklift To Be 'Deeply Missed'

LAKELAND, FL - Roy Eugene Davis had put in nearly 30 years at Central Maintenance & Welding Inc. before he retired on New Year's Eve. The 64-year-old Lithia man returned to work Tuesday, on a part-time basis, to assist in a project at Mosaic's New Wales plant on State Road 640. Davis, the nighttime safety coordinator on the project, was hit and killed by a forklift carrying a bucket about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.


Worker killed in fall at REP, Man slipped off ledge while cleaning at mill

LORAIN, OH — A 35-year-old father of twin girls fell 120 feet to his death Friday morning in an industrial accident at a Lorain steel mill. Jose M. Diaz was working as a contract cleaner at Republic Engineered Products, 1807 E. 28th St., when he slipped off a narrow ledge and fell, according to a police report. Diaz was an employee of Superior Environmental Solutions, a Cincinnati company hired to provide cleaning services throughout the massive complex formerly known as USS/Kobe Steel Co.


Two more Burger King workers killed months after Lindenhurst murder

CHICAGO, IL -- Pam Branka would often talk about the recent murder of an employee at a Burger King in Lindenhurst, but she never believed the same fate could befall her at the Burger King where she worked for 15 years in a small northeast Illinois community, her husband said. The 46-year-old mother of one and another employee of the Burger King in Momence, about 50 miles south of Chicago, were found dead inside the fast-food restaurant early Saturday, Kankakee County Coroner Robert Gessner said. He identified the other victim as Paul Jones, 49, of Donovan.


Two W.Va. Miners Killed At Coal Mine

McDowell County, WV - Two miners (James D. Thomas, 48, of North Tazewell, Va., and utilityman Pete Poindexter, 33, of Rock) are dead after another tragedy at a West Virginia coal mine. It happened at the Brooks Run Mining's Cucumber Mine in McDowell County, W.Va. The news came just weeks after the nation remembered the one year anniversary of the Sago Mine disaster. The accident marked the first mining deaths of 2007. Officials said the miners were trapped and killed around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, while working to remove pillars of coal. Investigators are still working to determine whether it was one of the pillars or the roof that collapsed. Local lawmakers said it's eerily tragic news so soon after the governor's State of the State address, where mine safety was a key issue. "No matter what, it's a horrible tragedy but if we find that it's something that could have been prevented, then maybe we can act quickly and make sure that no other families have to go through it in the future," said Majority Leader Joe DeLong (D).


Death of nurse at hospital being probed

PARAMUS, NJ -- Authorities were investigating the death of a Bergen Regional Medical Center employee who died on the job early Saturday, police said. Dennis Bombardier, 33, a head nurse at the hospital, was found in his office and in "medical distress" by another employee around 4:30 a.m., Bergen County Police Capt. Kevin Hartnett said. The Mahwah resident was taken to the hospital emergency room where he died three hours later, Hartnett said. The cause of death is pending the completion of an autopsy.


Paramedic dies after Boone wreck

Boone, WV - A 30-year paramedic died in a Charleston hospital Sunday after being injured in a head-on collision Saturday in Boone County. Tennille Annette Davis, 30, of Belle died at CAMC General Hospital, where she underwent surgery Saturday. She was airlifted to the hospital after being extricated from her pickup truck, said David Kieffer, a captain with the Kanawha County Ambulance Authority. Davis was en route to teach an Emergency Medical Technician class in Boone County when the accident occurred at about 9:30 Saturday on W.Va. 3 in Racine. An employee of the Kanawha County Ambulance Authority since 1999, Davis had reached the highest skill level — a critical care transport paramedic — and was a field training officer


Man killed when tractor flips

Boyd Lake, CO - A 60-year-old Larimer County farmer was killed in a freak accident this morning when the tractor he was using to pull a pickup from deep snow overturned and crushed him. Larimer County sheriff's spokesman Don Nadow said the man, whose name hasn't been released, was going goose hunting with two other men when their pickup became stuck in a field northeast of Boyd Lake.


Female cab driver shot to death in La Marque

LA MARQUE, TX — Police are investigating the shooting of a taxi driver who they believe was killed by the last person she gave a ride to. A passing motorist found Raneshia Lyshaun Kelly, 28, of Hitchcock, bleeding to death in her taxi along the northbound Interstate 45 feeder road near Century Boulevard about 3 a.m. Sunday. The motorist had pulled over to check on the driver after she saw the maroon taxi van weave on the road, go across the grass median and hit the I-45 guardrail. Kelly was dead by the time police and EMS workers arrived.


Clerk killed in robbery at Forest Heights 7-11

Forest Heights, MD - A clerk at the 7-11 on Livingston Road in Forest Heights was killed Friday evening during a robbery that police spokesman Cpl. Steve Pacheco said showed a ‘‘total disregard for everything.” An unidentified suspect armed with a shotgun entered the 7-11 sometime before 9 p.m. Friday and demanded money from store employee Bekurestsion K. Gebreamlak, who was behind the counter. During the course of the robbery, the suspect shot 57-year-old Gebreamlak in the upper body, before fleeing.


Grinnell Medical Center Worker Dies

Grinnell, IA - A 42-year old worker at Grinnell Regional Medical Center died Monday. The hospital says Randy Criswell was using a lawn tractor with a snow blade to remove snow from the one-story helipad. The machine cleared the five-foot safety net and landed on the ground, more than 17-feet below. Officials say further details about how it happened aren't known at this point. Criswell had major head and chest injuries. An autopsy will be performed Tuesday.


Two Idaho Statesman Newspaper Carriers Killed

Canyon County, Idaho -- The Idaho Statesman is mourning the tragic loss of two of their newspaper carriers. Gene and Darlene Sell died in an early morning accident in rural Canyon County while delivering papers along their regular daily route. Just before 4 a.m. Monday, Cindy Hess woke up to a loud noise outside her bedroom window. "Sounded like thunder," she said. That thunder was the sound of a deadly accident. Idaho State Police say a pickup truck ran a stop sign at Hollow and El Paso roads in rural Canyon County and collided with a semi-tractor hauling a milk tanker trailer. The impact knocked the street sign off the pole, uprooted one of the trees in Hess' yard, and ejected the man and woman inside the pickup. Gene Sell, 73, and his wife, Darlene, 68, weren't wearing their seatbelts and died at the scene.


Police name man killed in industrial incident

Salina, KS - The man killed Monday morning while working on a loader at Hronek Salvage, 146 S. Cherry, was identified Tuesday as Stanley Beckner, 61, 146 S. Cherry. Mike Marshall, deputy Salina police chief, said Beckner was working on the loader shortly before 11 a.m. Monday when the hydraulic arms suddenly lowered. Beckner was trapped between the lift arms and the frame of the loader, Marshall said.


One worker killed, two others seriously injured in shredder

Seattle, WA-An industrial accident at a South Seattle scrap recycler that shreds metal from cars killed one employee and left two others hospitalized with serious injuries Wednesday. The three Seattle Iron & Metals Corp. workers were preparing to repair the recycler's massive car shredder when a metal service platform they were installing shifted, pinning them inside the machine, authorities said.


One person dead in Palatine fire

IL-The owner of a Palatine auto repair shop was killed Thursday when a fire ravaged his business, fire officials said. Michael Kipnis, 40, of Lake Zurich was the lone fatality in the blaze; 12 others - one person from the auto shop and 11 employees from another business that shares the same building - safely escaped.


Cooper Tire Worker Killed

Texarkana, AK- A long-time employee at Cooper’s Texarkana, Ark., plant was killed Jan. 16 when, according to news reports, he was struck by a piece of falling equipment. According to Cooper it was the first fatality at the plant in its 42-year history Construction worker dies in drilling accident


Long Island Rail Road worker is hit by train, dies; many delays

VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. (AP) _ A railway track worker was struck by a train and killed Wednesday, delaying service on several branches of North America's largest commuter rail system. The Long Island Rail Road worker was hit at 9:55 a.m. just west of the Valley Stream station by the 9:12 a.m. westbound train from Babylon to Manhattan's Pennsylvania Station. He was airlifted to a hospital, where he died.


Highway worker dies on road

College Station, AR-A state Highway and Transportation Department worker re-moving a dead animal from southbound Hwy. 67/167 about a quarter mile south of the on-ramp at Redmond Road Tuesday morning was struck and killed by a passing motorist. The AHTD employee was identified as Jerome Harris from College Station, according to Glenn Bolick, a spokesman for AHTD. Harris was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to Bolick. The driver of the vehicle that struck Harris was identified as D. Lance Smith of Evening Shade. Smith was driving south in a 1994 Ford pickup on Hwy. 67/167 near Redmond Road when he struck Harris.


Tree Trimmer Dies After High Wind Knocks Down Limb

A tree trimmer was killed by a falling limb in Arlington yesterday, an apparent casualty of the high winds that raked the area. The worker, who was not identified immediately, was part of a seven-member crew from a private service that was trimming trees behind a house, authorities said. While crew members were rigging a tree to be trimmed, "a large gust of wind blew," according to a statement from Arlington authorities. Crew members heard "a large cracking sound," and a big branch broke from a tree and fell about 70 feet.

The workers tried to flee, but one was struck on the head by the falling branch. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His name is being withheld until relatives could be notified.


Man who died on job named

KALIHIWAI, HA — The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation yesterday announced the name of a man who was killed working on the job this week.

Johnathan Hirata, 30, of Wailua, died after cutting down a tree near Kalihiwai bridge on the mauka side in Kilauea around 1 p.m. Wednesday. Hirata had been part of the maintenance crew for more than seven years. His family was notified of his death Wednesday night.


Warehouse Worker Killed When Run Over By Payloader

CHICAGO, IL -- Authorities are investigating the death of a Lake Station, Ind., man at a Chicago warehouse where he worked. Authorities said 48-year-old Craig Harlacker was run over Wednesday night by a payloader driven by a fellow Kinder Morgan employee. A report from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said the driver was apparently blinded by a mercury vapor light. The report states that Harlacker was wearing a hard hat with sound suppressors and may not have heard the payloader approaching.


Worker Dies After Falling from Roof

Fort Wayne, IN -- A Fort Wayne construction worker (Brandon J. Bragg, 26,) fell to his death Thursday morning, while finishing up a roofing project in DeKalb County.

Just before 9:30, crews were working on the building that now houses the Garrett Christmas Bureau. The building previously served as a church, and has steep roofs. The new roofing project was nearly complete, when a worker slipped and fell.

"There were two ladders going up to the roof with the scaffolding across and apparently he slid on to that and bounced off the scaffolding and fell to the ground," Garrett Police Detective Sterling Robbins II told NewsChannel 15.


10-Hour Effort Fails To Save Trapped Worker

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. -- Russell Gusloff of 904 Colfax Ave. was pronounced dead on the scene at 12:38 a.m. Thursday at Graber Concrete Pipe, 24W121 Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, according to DuPage County Chief Deputy Coroner Charlie Dastych. "It was an extremely technical extrication," according to the firefighter, who said outside companies that specialize in rescues were brought in to help.

Upon arrival, crews were notified that an employee was engulfed by sand in a hopper located about 40 feet up on top of the building, according to a release from the district. After about an hour, the rescue was turned into a recovery effort because part of Gusloff’s body was exposed and showed "no signs of life," the firefighter said.


Police identify accident victim

SANDPOINT, ID -- The victim in Tuesday's deadly industrial accident at The Seasons resort development has been identified as Washington state resident Ezra D. Gordon. Sandpoint Police released the man's identity on Wednesday and a federal labor safety inspector investigated accident site. Authorities on Tuesday listed Gordon's age as 24, but he was actually 25.

Police Chief Mark Lockwood said Gordon lived in the Spokane area and was working for Crux Subsurface, a Spokane Valley firm which specializes in geotechnical drilling services. Crux was doing work for developers of the waterfront condominium and marina project, but Lockwood had no further details on the nature of Crux's work at the site. Gordon was part of a three-man crew using a track-mounted drilling machine when his clothes became entangled in the drill. "His clothes got caught in the apparatus and it pulled him in," Lockwood said.


Worker buried alive while filling a sewage trench

Mission Bluff, TX -- A construction worker was critically injured after accidentally being buried alive while filling a sewage trench in Fort Bend County. The unidentified man was working in the trench at a construction site near Mission Bluff late this afternoon when other construction workers began filling the trench, apparently covering him before anyone realized he was there, said Terriann Carlson, spokeswoman for the Fort Bend Sheriff's Office.

As soon as workers realized what had happened, they began digging the man out, but "he was down there for a good length of time," perhaps 20 to 30 minutes, Carlson said.


Police ID worker who died after falling down elevator shaft in Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- A 42-year-old Lake Worth man died Tuesday after he fell 60 feet down an elevator shaft while working at an oceanfront hotel construction site, officials said.

Ronald D. Mc Rostie, a subcontractor and mechanic was getting ready to test elevator cars at the St. Regis Resort when the accident occurred around 2 p.m., Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue spokesman Stephen McInerny said.

The man went to work on an elevator he thought was on the seventh floor, opened the doors with keys and fell down the elevator shaft onto the car, which was on the first floor, McInerny said. The man worked for Schindler Elevator. Company officials could not be reached for comment.


Unclothed Worker Dies After Four-Story Plunge

A naked construction worker fell about four stories to his death early yesterday at the work site for a new downtown museum, D.C. police and fire officials said.

Joseph Oliver, 23, of La Plata was discovered about 6 a.m. in the basement elevator shaft area of the Newseum, which is being built at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, officials said. Authorities said it was unclear why he was naked.


Maintenance worker dies as tractor traps him underwater in Weston

Fort Lauderdale, FL - Detectives from the Broward Sheriff's Office are investigating the death of a landscape maintenance worker, who was trapped underwater after his tractor tumbled into a pond on a Weston golf course.

Apparently, Carlos Carbena, 43, was operating a John Deere tractor with a mower attachment, cutting the grass, when the tractor lost traction and slid into the water, overturning and trapping him underwater.


Town official is killed by tree; Sturbridge man was an assessor

STURBRIDGE, MA -- A longtime town assessor and businessman died Monday afternoon shortly after a tree he was cutting down fell on him, police said.

Donald H. Mapplebeck, 67, was taken by ambulance to Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge, where he died a short time later. He suffered severe trauma, Police Sgt. Kevin R. Mercier said in an interview yesterday.

Mr. Mapplebeck and his co-worker were taking down pine trees in the backyard at 67 Walker Pond Road when the accident happened just before 2:30 p.m., the sergeant said. A very large tree that was being cut down struck another tree as it fell, which redirected the path of the falling tree. Two police cruisers and an ambulance arrived within five minutes.


Pastor Fatally Shot In Prince George's

Suitland, MD -- A well-known Prince George's County minister who runs a transitional home for poor families died yesterday after being gunned down on the steps of his church in the morning.

The Rev. Milton L. Moore was outside the entrance of the Warriors for Christ Ministries in Suitland about 7 a.m. when he was struck in the upper body and bullets shattered a glass door, police and relatives said. He died at 4:25 p.m.


FBI Agent Killed While Training

BOWLING GREEN, Va. -- An FBI agent was killed Wednesday during a live-fire training exercise, the agency said. Supervisory Special Agent Gregory J. Rahoi, 38, of Wisconsin, was shot Wednesday during the exercise at Fort A.P. Hill, a sprawling Army base about an hour south of Washington.


Truck Driver Killed, Family Injured In Overnight Collision; One Truck Rear Ends Another On Bishop Ford Expressway

CHICAGO, IL -- The driver of a tractor-trailer truck was killed when the big rig he was driving rear-ended another semitrailer stopped in traffic on the Bishop Ford Freeway. Five others were badly hurt -- including his wife and three children -- in the collision early Wednesday on the South Side.

William Cummings, 65, of Springfield, Mo., was pronounced dead at 1:55 a.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to a spokesman from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.


Bear-area motel worker killed in fall from ladder

Wilmington DE -- A worker was killed Tuesday when he fell 12 feet after climbing an extension ladder to a Bear-area motel roof to make repairs. Ramesh Patel, 44, who lives at the motel, was pronounced dead at the scene, said state police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh.


Firefighter dies on duty Long 'very religious and very dedicated to his family'

Charlotte, VA -- A veteran Charlotte firefighter died Friday night on duty while exercising, fire officials said. Just before 6 p.m., firefighter Kent Long, 44, collapsed at Charlotte Fire Station # 23 on W.T. Harris Boulevard. "He was a fine outstanding young man, very religious and very dedicated to his family," said Charlotte Fire Chief Luther Fincher Jr. Fincher said Long had gone out to do some windsprints between the firestation and a nearby church. A passerby noticed Long in the grass outside the station, Fincher said. Fellow firefighters began resuscitation efforts along with an on-duty medic crew. Long was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center where continued efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.


Man Killed When Tree Falls On Him In New Jersey

JAMESBURG, N.J. -- A man who works at a tree removal company was horrified when a tree he was taking down struck a second tree, which fell and killed his son on Wednesday. Jerrold Love, 28, was killed in what police are terming a tragic accident.

"I saw the tree go down and hit the other tree, and I said, 'Please don't let anybody be over there,"' neighbor Robert Cunha told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Thursday's newspapers. "Then I heard the screams."


Shipyard worker dies of Dec. 5 gunshot; co-worker charged

MOBILE Ala.-- A shipyard worker shot in the head in a dispute with a co-worker on Dec. 5 has died. Police said Travis Baldwin, 25, of Fairhope died Thursday from his injury.

An assault charge against the co-worker, LeKelvin Carlton, 27, of Mobile, in custody since the shooting, has been upgraded to murder. Carlton surrendered to police a short time after the shooting. Baldwin was shot at Austal U.S.A. Shipyard in Mobile following an argument with Carlton over tools, police said.


$10,000 reward for clerk's killer Cops check tips

Aurora, CO -- A $10,000 reward is being offered by 7-Eleven for information leading to the conviction of the man who shot and killed a store clerk in Aurora on Sunday morning. The homicide investigation is the top priority for Aurora police, with several investigators assigned to track down dozens of tips that have come in, Detective Robert Friel said Tuesday. There has been no arrest so far.

"There are so many directions to go in," Friel said. "It's a big spider web." Jutte Gallegos Burton, 62, who worked an overnight shift at the 7-Eleven at East Sixth Avenue and Havana Street, was murdered behind the counter at the store at 3:08 a.m. Sunday.

Surveillance video shows the clerk and the gunman looking at each other and having a conversation that lasts about one minute. The man then pointed a shortened shotgun at her and pulled the trigger. Gallegos Burton tried to run into a manager's office behind the store counter, Friel said. She was shot once in the back.


Postal workers remember slain supervisor and dead carrier

San Francisco, CA -- More than 50 U.S. Postal Service workers held an unusual vigil Wednesday to remember both a slain San Francisco postal supervisor and the colleague police believe killed her and took his own life.

Genevieve Paez, 53, a customer service supervisor at the Postal Service annex on Napoleon Street in the Bayview district, was shot in the back of the head outside her home Nov. 28 as she was leaving for work.

Police believe a letter carrier who worked for her, 39-year-old Julius Kevin Tartt of South San Francisco, shot Paez, possibly because he was angry she had sought disciplinary action against him. That baffled co-workers at Wednesday evening's vigil, some of whom said Paez and Tartt had a long, friendly relationship. More here.


HIGHWAY WORKER KILLED

Columbus, WI -- Columbia County highway worker Nick B. Price, 41, was killed Tuesday in a freak accident while working with a crew near the intersection of highways 151 and 73 in Columbus, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office said.

Price and others were part of a crew mowing the ditch along U.S. 151 when one of the vehicles being used got stuck in mud, the Sheriff's Office said. A second vehicle was brought to the scene to pull the stuck vehicle free, and while that was being done Price was hit in the head by a cable and suffered fatal injuries.

Price was married and the father of a daughter.


T-shirt shop owner killed in robbery

St. Louis, MO -- The owner of a small T-shirt shop in St. Louis was shot and killed this morning during a robbery at his store, police said.

The shooting took place about 10:45 a.m. in the 4600 block of St. Louis Avenue, at Cora Avenue. The victim was identified as Jesse Taylor, 73, of Bellefontaine Neighbors. He was pronounced dead at the scene.


Shooting rampage kills 3 - 2 strip club employees among dead

NEW BEDFORD, MA - At about 7 Monday evening Irene Thomas, inside a friend's tanning salon, heard a ruckus outside the Foxy Lady strip club next door. She went outside and saw two club employees, manager Tory C. Marandos and bouncer Robert Carreiro, arguing with a third man she didn't recognize.

"I'll be back for you and you and everybody," the man shouted. She shrugged it off as just another barroom dispute.

Five hours later, at closing time, a man walked into the club and went on a shooting rampage. He wielded an assault weapon and wore dark, paramilitary-style clothing. When it was all over, Carreiro, 32, of New Bedford, and Marandos, 30, of Nashua, N.H., were dead. Their killer, Scott C. Medeiros, 35, of Freetown, apparently took his own life, the police said. (More here.)


Friends, customers mourn slain Shoreline convenience store clerk

SHORELINE Wash.-- Relatives, friends and customers are mourning the unexplained killing of a convenience store clerk, an immigrant who helped support his ill father in this suburb north of Seattle.

King County sheriff's Sgt. John W. Urquhart said a customer found the man's body just after 4 a.m. Sunday on the sidewalk in front of the 7-Eleven store where he worked the night shift. Investigators have not determined who might be responsible, nor was anything missing, Urquhart said.

Ho Viet Ton, 49, was shot while sitting outside the store on a cigarette break within sight of the Shoreline Police Neighborhood Center across the street, but surveillance videotape provided no useful clues, Ron Conlin of 7-Eleven Inc. said Monday.


Deer comes through windshield, kills truck driver

Odell, Neb. -- In a bizarre traffic collision near Odell, Neb., a deer smashed through the windshield of a semitrailer truck, striking and killing the driver.

The deer had a broken leg, probably from being hit by another vehicle, and jumped into the path of the truck as it drove west on Nebraska Highway 8 just before 6 p.m. Thursday, said Gage County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Kendall said. The deer struck the hood of the semi, went through the windshield and into the cab.

The driver, 34-year-old Travis Hedman, of Morganville, Kan., was killed. After the collision, the truck went into a ditch, into a field and then rolled onto the passenger side, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Emergency crews found Hedman and the deer, both dead, in the cab of the truck, Kendall said. Hedman, who worked for Carlson Trucking Co. out of Clay Center, Kan., had been transporting a load of pipe on a flatbed trailer.


LaPorte man killed in accident at work

Authorities have identified the man who was fatally injured in Bertrand Township early Wednesday while working on his semi-truck and trailer as John P. Bryan, 33, of LaPorte.

The vehicle reportedly rolled over on Bryan as he was performing maintenance on it shortly before 5:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the DHL Worldwide Express terminal at 2121 Chicago Road, just southwest of Niles, the Michigan State Police post in Niles reported. Bryan was an independent contract carrier who worked for Werner Enterprises, DHL said.


Construction Worker Falls To Death

A construction worker on a condo remodeling project fell to his death Thursday morning. At about 8:40 a.m. police responded to a report of a fall at the Tequesta Towers Condominium at 400 Beach Road. Jose Caliz, 41, of Jupiter was working on a balcony renovation when he fell 10 stories, police said. He was flown to St. Mary's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Fort Lauderdale office of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an investigation, Area Director Luis Santiago said, but no details about the incident were available Friday.


Five workers killed in head-on collision near Modesto

OAKDALE Calif. -- A pickup truck slammed head-on into a car on a San Joaquin Valley road, killing five people on their way to work, the California Highway Patrol said. Four of the victims were related.

The truck's driver, Justin Chase Christensen, 26, of Oakdale, was the only survivor of Thursday's crash, said Highway Patrol Officer John Martinez. Christensen was arrested at the hospital, where he remained hospitalized with major injuries and was under 24-hour guard.

Martinez said the CHP will recommend to prosecutors that he be charged with five counts of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Christensen remained hospitalized Friday. The CHP said his blood tested positive for alcohol and heroin.

The five people killed were not all identified by Friday, but Martinez said they were two cousins, two brothers-in-law and a friend, all of Oakdale. The men were on their way to work at a nearby tree farm. All five were pronounced dead at the scene.

Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

A partial list of workers killed in the workplace over the past several weeks.

THP Officer Killed In Tipton County

Nashville, TN -- In West Tennessee, the Tennessee Highway Patrol is on the hunt for two men they believe killed a state trooper Saturday night. Trooper Calvin Jenks was shot twice, including once in the head.

A group of hunters saw the trooper’s blue lights from the woods. They checked it out, and found Jenks dead beside his vehicle in Tipton County. The Department of Safety is “deeply saddened by the loss” and is “doing everything” it can to “bring the suspects to justice”.


Rail worker killed

Sioux City, IA -- A Union Pacific employee was killed while working at the 28th Street yard this afternoon. The man was separating rail cars by destination at about 1 p.m. when he was struck by a rail car and killed, said Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific. Davis said there will be counseling available to co-workers. He did not release the name of the victim.


Worker Killed At Demolition Site Identified

PENN HILLS, PA - A worker died after falling 40 feet from a building he was helping demolish has now been identified. Yousef Maayah, 64, fell off the Atlas Cement Plant in Penn Hills at about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office announced Thursday. Maayah last lived in Dearborn, Mich., but was a recent immigrant to the United States, the medical examiner's office said. His death was ruled an accident. Penn Hills police and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating. It was not immediately clear who Maayah was working for when he died. "We're still trying to determine who the employer was," said Leni Uddyback-Fortson, spokeswoman for OSHA's Philadelphia office.


Tacoma Utilities Worker Dies After Storm Accident

TACOMA, Wash. -- Tacoma Power worker Bary Kensrud died Tuesday night from injuries sustained during cleanup after the Dec. 14 windstorm. On Dec. 17, Kensrud and a tree-trimming crew were sent to remove a tree that had fallen onto the road near North 29th Street and Mullen Street in Tacoma. When the crew arrived they discovered a downed power pole that limited access to the fallen tree. Kensrud was standing on the ground cutting away the pole, which released the tension on some communications cables that were under the pole, when the pole and lines hit him, throwing him across the alley. The crew called 911 immediately and Kensrud was transported to the hospital where he remained in critical condition until his death Tuesday. Tacoma Power is following normal accident review procedures and preparing incident report ro share with Kensrud’s family.


Tyson Investigating Worker's Death

Emporia, KS - Tyson Foods is investigating the death of an Emporia worker who was hurt on the job. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said a male production worker walked to the plant's Health Services Department about 5:30 p.m. Thursday night and reported being injured while helping prepare an animal for slaughter. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, but did not survive. Tyson operations and safety personnel are investigating. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also been contacted.


Alcoa worker dies from gas inhalation

POINT COMFORT, TX - 37-year old Port Lavaca man came into contact with hydrogen fluoride. A 37-year-old Alcoa employee died Tuesday in a Houston hospital after he inhaled hydrogen fluoride gas Tuesday afternoon while working in the chemical department at the Point Comfort plant. Late Wednesday, Alcoa officials identified the man as John Dorton of Port Lavaca. "It's a very sad day for us here," said Laurel Cahill, Alcoa's director of communications. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the instrument and electrical technician." In a news release, Cahill said Dorton had been an Alcoa employee since 2004. About 50 members of Hope Fellowship Church in Port Lavaca gathered for a prayer service Wednesday night to offer support and comfort to Dorton's wife, Carolina.


Budding farmer lost in tragedy

HARDWICK TWP., PA - 16-year-old Devin Yurga died doing what he loved, his mother says. 'He just had the gentlest heart.' One of the highlights in Devin Yurga's young life was the day he got his farmer's license and drove his Ford pickup truck across the fields for the first time. The 16-year-old, who dreamed of being a dairy farmer, had been working on area farms for years, but now he was one step closer to adulthood. His mom, Bonnie Yurga, is left with the memory of her son, who died Saturday doing what he loved -- driving a tractor on a Knowlton Township farm. Devin Yurga was operating a 1974 Massey Ferguson tractor Saturday morning when it flipped and pinned his upper torso. He was flown to Morristown Memorial Hospital, where, police said, he died of asphyxiation.


Accident kills utility worker

Waynesboro, GA -- An OMI employee was killed when a truck backed over him at Waynesboro's wastewater treatment plant. The accident occurred around 12:45 p.m. Saturday when Sewell Clifford Peckham, 25, was leaving the plant to make routine rounds in the city.

He was closing a gate behind his company truck when it apparently slipped into reverse, a spokesperson from the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) said, noting that their findings were preliminary.


Explosion at Bucks firm results in man's death

FALLS, Pa. -- A man was killed when a pressurized tank he was testing exploded at a concrete factory yesterday, police said. The man -- identified by police as Theodore C. Potsko, 40, of Doris Avenue, Bensalem, Pa. -- was working at Silvi Concrete on Newbold Road when the deadly acci dent occurred about 12:50 p.m. Police said Potsko was a veteran of the war in Iraq. The preliminary investigation revealed Potsko was pressure-test ing a water tank that was part of a cement mixer truck, police said. For an as yet unknown reason, the tank exploded, throwing Pot sko several feet and killing him instantly, police said.



Worker killed in Bronx construction accident, falls 2 stories

NEW YORK — A construction worker (Carlos Reinoso, 47,) operating an excavating machine during the demolition of a vacant building fell to his death Wednesday when a concrete beam tumbled off a second-story ledge and dragged his vehicle with it. A preliminary city report indicated that the man was using the front-end loader to push a 60-foot concrete beam to the ledge of a Bronx building's second floor when it got stuck. In an attempt to dislodge the 2-ton beam, the worker pushed it off the side of the eight-story building. But the beam dragged the machine with it, and it fell about 26 feet. The worker, who was thrown from the machine, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The city's Department of Buildings stopped work at the site and issued a violation to the contractor for unsafe demolition practices. Common practice would be to cut the beam into pieces before removing it. Engineers from the buildings department and inspectors from the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration were investigating.


Pizzeria Employee Killed

Fort Wayne, IN - Fort Wayne police are looking for two men, who they say, shot and killed an employee at Tasty Pizza. It happened during a hold-up around 12:40 a.m. Sunday morning. There were a few employees in the store, when two masked men walked in with guns. What began as an armed robbery turned violent, and 23-year old Chad Brunson, of Fort Wayne was shot in the head. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. So far, no arrests have been made. Police say this type of murder is rare. They hope surveillance video will help them find the killers.


Anchorage man dies at Red Dog Mine

ANCHORAGE, AK - An Anchorage man was killed Friday when he was struck by a boulder at the Red Dog Mine in northwest Alaska. Jeffrey A. Huber, 51, was pronounced dead at the mine's medical facilities. Mine officials said a boulder fell from the side of an open pit and struck Huber, causing massive head and chest injuries.


Two found dead in bar owned by Red Wings star

Detroit, MI -- Two people were found stabbed to death Tuesday morning at a sports bar owned by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios, authorities said. Police arrested a former employee, according to news reports. The victims were a man and woman who both worked for Cheli's Chili Bar, officials said. They were found shortly after 9 a.m. on the restaurant's second floor, said police spokeswoman Yvette Walker. A former employee was arrested, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News reported. Earlier, Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings told the Free Press that "a former disgruntled employee" may have been responsible. The newspapers identified the victims as Megan Soroka, 49, of suburban Dearborn, and Mark Barnard, 52, of Detroit. Soroka was a manager and Barnard was a cook, the papers said.


Construction Worker Dies In Fall At New School

STEVENSVILLE, Md. -- A construction worker fell to his death Thursday while working on a roof of a middle school being built on Kent Island. The 45-year-old man, who wasn't identified pending family notification, was standing on the Matapeake Middle School roof when he fell from the two-story structure, hitting the concrete floor below, officials said. The man died at the scene, said Cpl. J.D. Hofmann of the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office.


Worker dies after becoming pinned by machinery at paper plant

GILMAN, Vt. -- A paper mill worker has died after becoming pinned by machinery at the Dirigo Paper Co. Gary Brown, 49, of Guildhall, was doing maintenance at plant Friday morning when he became pinned between the bucket and front of a skid steer. Brown, who had worked at the mill since 2004, was taken by helicopter to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He died during emergency surgery.


Ironworker killed by falling metal plate

Brooklyn, NY - A Bronx man working as a dry dock ironworker was struck and killed by a 6,000-pound metal plate that fell from a crane at a shipyard inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard Saturday, according to co-workers and the victim's family. Police said their investigation was still pending and did not immediately identify the victim or provide details about the accident. Co-workers said the 40-foot-by-80-foot plate somehow came loose from a crane on a fuel barge and landed on the ironworker, Christopher Thomas, around 10:30 a.m. in the GMD Shipyard. Thomas was still breathing when he was rushed by ambulance to Brooklyn Hospital Center, where he later died, co-workers said.


Demolition worker dies from earlier injuries

Wilkes-Barre, PA - A demolition worker injured when a wall collapsed on him has died. Edward Widdick, 53, of Clarks Summit, died last week, Luzerne County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Lisman said. The building collapsed Dec. 10. Firefighters and rescue workers tossed aside bricks and beams to get to Mr. Widdick, who was pinned for about 15 minutes. The building on Public Square, Wilkes-Barre's town center, was once part of Pomeroy's department store.


Cobb County lawman killed in car collision

MARIETTA, Ga. - A Cobb County sheriff's deputy driving to work was killed in a traffic wreck Sunday morning. Deputy Loren Lilly, 41, was killed in the collision, which occurred at about 5:45 a.m., Marietta Police said. Lilly was driving south on Powder Springs Road near Baltimore Place when his green Honda Civic collided with a white Ford Taurus and overturned several times, police said. Lilly's car overturned several times and he was killed at the scene, officer Casey Camp said.


Funeral Services Set For JSO Officer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Funeral services are set for Jacksonville Sheriff's Officer Corey Russ, who was killed in a traffic accident Saturday. Russ died Saturday afternoon after a collision that occurred while he was driving the wrong way on a one-way street downtown, state police said.


Man killed in roofing accident in Thompson

THOMPSON, CT — A construction worker was killed on the job this morning after falling 17 feet off scaffolding that was mounted against a house, state police officials with Troop D said. Scott B. Millette, 47, of Webster, Mass., was part of a roofing company crew installing a new roof on a two-story home at 422 Riverside Drive when he fell off aluminum scaffolding around 11 a.m., police said. Millette was transported to Day Kimball Hospital by ambulance. Millette succumbed to injuries sustained from the fall and was pronounced dead at 11:42 a.m. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday at the Chief Medical Examiner’s office in Farmington.


North Texas firefighter killed in line of duty

DENISON, TX — A Denison firefighter who died this weekend while battling a blaze was a second-generation firefighter who had grown up around the North Texas department. Phillip Townsend, 31, died Saturday at the Texoma Medical Center about two hours after part of a building collapsed on him as he fought a fire that destroyed a Denison shopping center. Chief Gordan Weger, 54, was also trapped in the collapse. He was taken to the hospital and was treated and released, officials said.


Cab Driver, Father of Four Murdered

Atlanta, GA - DeKalb County police are investigating the murder of a taxi driver, who was shot to death at about 1:45 a.m. Sunday morning. The shooting happened at an apartment complex on New Bedford Way, near Shallowford Road and Interstate 85. Police responded to the scene after a neighbor called 911. When they arrived, they say they found the driver's body inside his van, which rolled down a hill, hitting the side of an apartment building. "We know him for a long time, so our company feel bad about it," said Amanda Flores, a friend and co-worker of the victim. "He had reported to our base about an hour ago."


SF Police Officer Dies After Shootout; Suspect Dies at Scene

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - -- A San Francisco police officer is dead after he was shot in the head last night, then pulled off life support by his family early this morning. Bryan Tuvera, 28, a four-and-a-half year veteran of the force, was shot by a suspect during a gun fight in the Sunset District that also left the suspect dead, according to Police Chief Heather Fong. She said the shootout started when two officers chased the suspect, wanted on multiple warrants, into the garage of a home on the 1,600 block of 25th Avenue.


W.Va. Man Killed in Mining Accident

MAIDSVILLE, W.Va. — A man died in a weekend roof fall at a northern West Virginia coal mine, becoming the 47th mining fatality in the nation this year. Electrician John Elliott, 26, of Newburg died Sunday night at Dana Mining Co.'s Prime No. 1 mine in Monongalia County, said Amy Louviere, spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety & Health Administration.


Snapped cable killed construction worker

BUFORD, GA - A 21-year-old man - who worked for a Flowery Branch company - was killed Monday in a construction accident after a support cable snapped on an excavator driven by his brother. Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's Office investigator Ray Rawlins said Oscar Velasco of Lawrenceville died of blunt force trauma to the neck and head, causing a broken neck. Rawlins said Velasco was helping to install a sewage system for a new subdivision and was loading a trench box onto the tracked excavator, also known as a track hoe. The trench box weighs about half a ton, and the cables were up to 100 pounds, Rawlins said. ``The tension is deadly,'' Rawlins said. "It will destroy anything that it strikes.'' As his brother, Raul Velasco, lifted the trench box, one of the cables came off, striking Oscar Velasco on the base of his head and wrapping around his neck.


Man Dies After Falling Four Floors At Downtown Building

St. Louis, MO - A St. Louis County man died Monday night after falling four floors at a downtown St. Louis building under redevelopment. Sidney Taylor, 49, of the 9400 block of Burdella Avenue, was an employee of Environmental Operations, Inc., a St. Louis-based firm that provides abatement services. Chairman and CEO Stacy W. Hastie said Taylor fell from the sixth floor to the second floor of the Syndicate Trust Building at 10th and Locust Streets.


SJ Airport Contractor Killed On First Day Of Work

San Jose, Calif. -- A truck driver working on a construction site at the airport in San Jose has died after getting crushed between his cab and a conveyer belt, NBC11's Kris Sanchez reported. Rich Dressler with the Mineta San Jose International Airport said the man was moving equipment into storage near the north concourse at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday when he was struck. The man was on the flatbed of his big-rig getting ready to move a conveyer belt when another truck got too close, Sanchez reported. "This second driver in the red truck flipped his flatbed and that movement caused him to be crushed between the back of his cab and the conveyer belt," Dressler said The incident took place at the southeast end of the airport in a construction area known as the "rental airfield," Dressler said. The area is off the flight path, he said.


CSX employee struck and killed by train

Selkirk, NY - CSX Spokesman Robert Sullivan said, "Shortly after midnight, about five after, we had a tragedy occur here." The CSX Rail Yard in Selkirk hadn't seen such a tragedy until early Tuesday morning when John A. Williams, 53, of Albany -- a CSX employee -- died after the company-owned ATV he was riding on collided with a train. Sullivan said, "This train was departing the yard, moving very slowly, less than 10 miles an hour."


Worker killed in Cass County pipeline blast

PORTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. — An employee of an electric utility was killed Tuesday when the digging machine he was operating hit and ruptured a high-pressure natural gas pipeline, causing an explosion that left a 60-foot crater and shook windows miles away, authorities said. The worker, Danny Young, 27, of Vandalia, was an apprentice lineman for Midwest Energy Cooperative, the Cassopolis-based utility said in a written statement. Young was part of a three-person crew installing primary electrical service to a home when his machine, known as a trencher, struck the pipeline. The other two crew members were not injured.


Man killed in bizarre accident

RIDGELAND, SC - A 52-year-old truck driver from Tennessee died in a freak accident Monday afternoon while he was trying to free his truck from mud after dumping a load of dirt at the Hickory Hill Landfill in Ridgeland, according to authorities. "He tried to get it loose with the bed extended instead of letting the bed down," Jasper County Coroner Martin Sauls said. "The cylinder popped off from the bed and came through the cab of the truck, crushing the driver." He died instantly, Sauls said. He said he couldn't release the name of the driver because his next of kin hadn't been notified. The driver worked for a Tennessee company hired to shuttle dirt to the dump by Houston-based Waste Management, which runs the landfill on Lowcountry Drive, Sauls said. The landfill serves Beaufort and Jasper counties.


Milton mourns officer killed in Tobin crash

Milton, CO - Flags were lowered to half-staff at Milton municipal buildings today in memory of Michael Devin, a 35-year veteran of the police department, who was killed in a two-car crash on the Tobin Bridge Monday. The accident on Route 1 in Chelsea remains under investigation as police try to determine "what role, if any alcohol played," according to Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. Autopsies are scheduled for today and may help determine why the other driver was heading the wrong way on Route 1 when his Toyota Camry collided with Devin's Honda Accord, Wark said. In Milton, people were still trying to come to grips with Devin's death.


Work restarted on wastewater treatment plant

SPOKANE, WA -- Work has restarted on a new addition to the wastewater treatment plant where a Post Falls man was killed in a construction accident last week. Construction was put on hold indefinitely following the death of 26-year-old Tizoc Gayton, an employee of Garco Construction, who was killed when a horizontal beam fell and killed him at the construction site last Tuesday. On Monday the city reported that construction had restarted on the new digesters for the wastewater treatment plant late last week.


Movement in cabbie killing

BETHEL, AK - Investigators chasing clues in a high-profile Bethel cabbie slaying executed search warrants at two locations Tuesday evening, Bethel police said. The search warrants centered on a handful of residents police are calling "people of interest." It's still too early to call those people suspects, Police Chief Ben Dudley said Wednesday. The warrants are the first announcement of a significant development in the investigation involving cab driver Ju Young Joung, 41. Joung was killed on Dec. 10 after people on snowmachines pulled up beside his idling cab. Dudley would not identify the owners of the searched premises nor describe any items seized.


Worker Dies In Construction Accident

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- A construction worker was killed Wednesday afternoon while working on a new development on the city's North Side. Police said the man got his head caught between an awning and a cherry picker he was being lifted on to do some electrical work at the Plaza on East Sonterra and Sigma. The man, in his 30's, died at the scene, police said.


Veteran Window Washer Falls to Death

WHITEVILLE, NC -- A Whiteville family is trying to figure out how their loved one fell to his death while on the job, washing windows. Kenny Lynn, 51, died after his lift tipped over while he was doing a routine window check up at the BB&T bank in Whiteville. Family members say window washing was second nature to Lynn. It's been a family business since 1940. With three generations of window cleaners, Lynn's daughter says it will be tough to move on without him. "I think it will be different without my dad. My brother, bless his heart, he has big shoes to fill and I know he can do it. Daddy had such a good reputation with so many people, Brandon, he can carry on that legacy," says Lynn's daughter Jennifer. One bank employee says he noticed all the safety precautions Lynn was known for were not in place, saying the scaffolding was not anchored correctly.


Highway construction worker killed near Rancho Viejo, Police say truck backed over man

RANCHO VIEJO, TX — A highway construction supervisor on U.S. Expressway 77/83 was accidentally run over and killed Wednesday morning north of Rancho Viejo, Brownsville police said. San Benito resident Santiago Olivares, 58, a supervisor with Ballenger Construction Co., was struck and run over at the 1300 block of Expressway 77/83 by a construction tar tanker after he walked behind the truck, police Sgt. Pablo Flores said. Olivares was working in the middle of the expressway where workers were reconstructing the roadway and adding lanes. The highway lanes are diverted around that section of construction, which is more than a quarter mile south of Highway 100. “It was a work site accident,” Flores said. “Apparently, he was run over by the vehicle’s rear right-side tires.”


Construction worker crushed by roller

BARBOURSVILLE, WV -- A 43-year-old construction worker was crushed by a construction roller Wednesday evening while working on a subdivision in Barboursville, according to Cabell County Sheriff Sgt. R.B. Chafin. Chafin said John O'Dell and other employees for Scott Hutchinson Enterprise were operating two pieces of heavy equipment when it appeared that the soil gave way and the equipment overturned on O'Dell. The construction workers were working on Island Estates, a subdivision of apartments located along Route 60 off of East Pea Ridge. Cabell County Sheriff's received a call at 7:13 p.m. Cabell County EMS transported O'Dell to St. Mary's Hospital, where he died shortly after.


Nolen Construction employee found dead along road

BLACK OAK, OH -- An Olive Hill man was found lying beside a guardrail in Black Oak Wednesday and was later pronounced dead, said police. Beecher Yates, 56, an employee for Nolen Construction, had been performing repairs on telephone lines along Kentucky 8 in Sand Branch. The Lewis County Sheriff's Office received a call around 11:15 a.m. to report the finding, said authorities. At the scene, it appeared Yates may have fallen from a ladder, but hospital reports indicated Yates had suffered a heart attack. Yates was transported to Southern Ohio Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 11:54 a.m. The Portsmouth Ambulance Service, the Black Oak Fire Department and deputies Tom Polley and Dwayne Stone responded to the scene.


East P.A. bar owner is city's fifth homicide of year

East Palo Alto, CA - The owner of a popular East Palo Alto sports bar was shot to death late Wednesday night. John Farmer, 56, was shot once in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene, said police Lt. Tom Alipio. Farmer owned The Doctors Sports Bar & Grill, 2240 University Ave. Authorities have not made any arrests, Lt. Alipio said. Detectives spent much of Tuesday at the restaurant, which was shut down temporarily, investigating the crime scene. The shooting was the fifth homicide of the year in East Palo Alto. Last year, 14 people were killed in the city. Authorities are also trying to figure out what happened in a different shooting late Wednesday night. Just after 11 p.m., two 17-year-old East Palo Alto residents were found in a car at the corner of Newbridge Street and Willow Roads in nearby Menlo Park. They told officers that there were stopped at a red light when someone from another vehicle opened fire on them, then sped away, Lt. Alipio said.


Construction Worker's Death Considered Accident

BROWNSVILLE, TX - Investigators are treating the death of a construction worker as an accident. Santiago Olivarez, 58, was killed while working inside a construction zone, just north of Rancho Viejo. Police say they responded to a call just after 10 a.m. "We are still interviewing witnesses at this time," says Lieutenant William Ingram of the Brownsville Police Department. "We understand that he was walking one way and a tar tanker was backing up when he struck him." A tar tanker is a heavy-duty truck used for distributing oil before paving.


Dubuque man killed in crane accident

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- A Dubuque man has died after a crane he was working in tipped over and pinned him between the crane's cab and an electrical transformer. According to the Dubuque Police Department, Lonnie Plumley was working in a crane owned by A-1 Crane Service of Dubuque at a construction site in the city. The crane was in the process of moving a large aggregate hopper when the crane tipped. Plumley was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the cause of the accident.


Utility worker electrocuted in Greenville County

GREENVILLE, S.C. - A utility worker on a pole in northern Greenville County was electrocuted after he touched a live wire and fell, the coroner's office said. Tim Oldham, 43, of Salem died Monday afternoon after the incident that occurred while he worked on a pole off state Highway 11. Oldham worked for Sumter Utilities. The company and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the death, Coppins said.



Construction worker killed in electrical accident

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - One construction worker was killed and another was seriously injured after metal poles they were moving at a house touched a low-hanging power line. Ivair Olinpio DosSantos, 20, died in the accident Thursday. He was pronounced dead at a St. Joseph hospital. Marcos Vincius Silva Teixeira, 23, was injured trying to help DosSantos. The men were employed by a Lenexa, Kan., construction firm that was working in the southeastern St. Joseph neighborhood without a permit, said Cmdr. Jim Connors, police spokesman. Witnesses said the accident victims were at the side of the home disassembling metal scaffolding. Vinyl siding had been added to the home earlier.


Blaine Bar Employee Killed In Fight

Blaine, Minn. - A bouncer is dead and a 35-year-old man is in critical condition after a bar fight in Blaine early Friday morning. The bouncer, 24-year-old Greg Klaers, was killed while trying to break up that fight. His brother saw the whole thing happen. "I saw a knife and the next thing I saw was my brother bleeding and hitting the ground," said Andy Klaers, the victim's older brother. "Greg was my best friend ... he's my brother and my best friend. He's the only one that would look past anybody's faults." ...Greg Klaers later died at HCMC. A customer was also stabbed and critically wounded. Police arrested four men for assault. Police Chief David Johnson says they've had an unusually high number of police calls at Time Out -- 37 this year.


Store manager shot and killed in Pasco County

LACOOCHEE, Florida (AP) — Pasco County authorities say the manager of a convenience store was fatally shot during a robbery. Sheriff officials say the suspect entered P.K. Food Store and shot and killed Rahul Patel, who was standing behind the counter shortly before 8:00 Thursday night. A second employee in the store was able to hide and call for help when he was sure the suspect had left. Patel was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect got away with an undisclosed amount of money. He's described as a black man between 20 and 30 years old with dreadlocks. It's believed he got away in a red, older model vehicle with tinted windows.


Four dead after plane crashes, Aircraft carried family members from San Diego

CONCORD, CA — A veteran pilot trying to land his plane with three family members aboard crashed short of a Buchanan Field runway on a drizzly Thursday morning, his aircraft clipping a Highway 4 median and cartwheeling into flames before stopping in a muddy field. All four aboard died, including the pilot's wife of more than 50 years and their 12-year-old grandson. Pilot John Mauricio, a 78-year-old retired commercial fisherman from Las Vegas, left San Diegos Montgomery Field around 9 a.m. en route to Concord for a business trip.


Bank Teller Identified In Fatal Shooting

Little Rock, AK - Little Rock police say a bank robber fatally shot one teller before demanding and getting money from another teller at a bank branch in west Little Rock Saturday. The robbery occurred at about 11 am at a Metropolitan National Bank branch on North Rodney Parham Road, near the intersection with Interstate 430. Employees at the Little Rock bank branch were less than an hour away from closing their doors for the Christmas holiday. That's when police say a masked gunman entered and shot employee James Garison.


Treasure Island rollover of SUV kills woman, 20

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The mood on Treasure Island was somber Friday as Job Corps staff and students reeled from the loss of one of their own. Job Corps member Alea Burr, 20, was killed just after 1 a.m. on Friday when the sport utility vehicle she was riding in rolled over near the intersection of California Avenue and H Avenue on Treasure Island. Treasure Island Center Director Benjie Williams, who runs the local chapter of the federal program, said the Job Corps community is coming together to support one another after the tragedy. “It’s a deep, deep sadness,” Williams said. “We just need to take care of the students, take care of the staff now.” Job Corps is a U.S. Department of Labor program in which about 800 people under age 24 take part at Treasure Island. The 39-acre campus on the island provides educational opportunities, counseling and job training for young adults.


Memorial, burial today for man killed in Sisquoc

Sisquoc , CA - Memorial services and burial are scheduled this morning for a Santa Maria man who was killed in an industrial accident in Sisquoc last week. A memorial for Peter “Pete” Noragong, 48, will be held at 10 a.m. today in the chapel of Magner-Maloney Funeral Home and will be followed by burial at the Santa Maria Cemetery. Noragong was working for J & N Trucking Services, a division of Bakersfield-based Grayson Services Inc., when he was sent to check on a pump in an oil field southeast of Santa Maria on Dec. 28, said Dean Fryer of the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “We know he removed the guard covering the drive belt and we suspect that he looked into the area where the pump is to get a visual of the drive belt when the counterweight of the pump struck him in the head,” Fryer said.


Ranch worker killed in ATV fall

Lake Sherwood, CA - A worker at a ranch near Lake Sherwood was killed Sunday morning when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving plummeted down a 50-foot slope, officials said. Jeremias Antonio Vargas, 44, a resident of the San Fernando Valley community of North Hills, was pronounced dead at Los Robles Medical Center in Thousand Oaks about 10 a.m., an hour after the accident, said Mike Feiler, a senior deputy medical examiner with the Ventura County Coroner's Office.


Man Hit, Killed By SUV, Police: Pedestrian Was Trying To Cross Loop 410

SAN ANTONIO, CA -- A construction worker on his way to lunch Friday was hit and killed while he was trying to cross loop 410. The 36-year-old man was getting off work early, according to a friend he talked with on the phone just before the accident. The man jumped a concrete barrier and attempted to cross Loop 410 at Alamo Downs Parkway when he was hit by a sport-utility vehicle. "We were going to pick him up because he said he was getting off early today. So I said, "OK, we'll met you here at Pepe's, OK?' Sure enough, we got here and saw all the traffic. I told my wife, 'I hope it's not a friend of ours who works here,'" said the victim's friend, Andy Ramirez. Tragically, it was his friend who was hit. The construction worker took the chance to get across 410 and made it across two lanes when he was hit by the SUV, said police.


Worker is killed by a train at steel mill

COATESVILLE, PA -- A 24-year-old steel mill worker was fatally struck by a train at the plant, authorities said. Brian E. Pluck, of Coatesville, died from massive head injuries around 4 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Chester County Coroner's Office. Pluck's body was found on railroad tracks at the Mittal Steel USA plant, where his job was to link and unlink railcars. Pluck, who was married, worked for a subsidiary of Harsco Corp., a Harrisburg company that had a contract to clean up slag and other waste from the Mittal plate-steel plant. Harsco and the United Steelworkers of America are conducting investigations, as is the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.


Feds probe death of crushed worker

Queens, NY - Laborer Luis Murillo died a horrible death on a cold night in Queens, his waist and legs crushed under a massive steel boiler door. The city medical examiner called it an accident. But the circumstances leading up to his death - including a botched attempt to save him - are now the subject of a federal investigation. The 3,000-pound door fell late on Friday, Dec. 15, as a handful of workers - including Murillo and his brother - were trying to remove it from a boiler at a utility plant in Astoria, Queens. It slammed down on top of Murillo, a 38-year-old father, crushing his lower torso and legs and pinning him to the floor, according to records and several sources. The workers, from All-Star Welding and Demolition of Danbury, Conn., told first responders they used a forklift to pull the door off Murillo.


Trash worker dies of injuries from fall

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) -- A trash worker died of injuries he suffered when he fell off the back of a trash truck the day before, authorities said. Michael Rightenour, 34, of Hollidaysburg, died Wednesday morning from a severe brain injury, said Blair County Deputy Coroner Jeff Guyer. Rightenour was on the back of the truck Tuesday morning when the truck's driver, Rightenour's cousin Steven Rightenour, swerved to miss another vehicle, police said. Steven Rightenour, of Altoona, faces charges of driving with a suspended license and accidents involving injury or death because he left the scene, police said. The charges will be filed in early January.


Construction Worker Struck, Killed By Forklift

PLAINFIELD, Ind. -- A construction worker was fatally struck by a forklift Wednesday morning on the site of future Plainfield High School, police said. Witnesses told police that Danny Karr was crossing a parking lot when a forklift, being driven around a curve, struck him at about 11 a.m. Karr was taken to Indianapolis' Wishard Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Police said the forklift's driver apparently did not see Karr before he was struck. Karr, an employee of Ermco Electric, was working at the construction site of the new high school, located on Indiana 267 at Reeves Road.


Hardhat's crushed in building collapse

New York, NY - Calling into the darkness of a partially collapsed building in upper Manhattan, an injured construction worker pleaded yesterday for his nephew, a fellow hardhat, to respond. But there was no answer. Burton Joseph, a 33-year-old father who began working as a hardhat just four weeks ago, was crushed to death about 12:30 p.m. when three floors pancaked inside a W. 113th St. building. Two other workers, including Joseph's uncle, Stephen Fanfan, were injured. Nesta Felix, 27, the dead man's cousin, visited her injured uncle at St. Luke's Hospital last night.


Webster roofer dies after fall

THOMPSON, MA -- A Webster man working on roof died Wednesday at Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam after he fell from scaffolding. Scott B. Millette, 47, of Lake Parkway, Webster, was part of a crew installing a new roof at a home at 422 Riverside Drive when he fell about 17 feet about 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to a news release by Resident State Trooper John Aiello. Mr. Millette was taken by ambulance to Day Kimball Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:42 a.m., according to the release. The roofing company was not identified. Trooper Aiello, Thompson Building Official Alvan R. Hill, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.


Firefighter, 31, Dies After Battling Blaze At Shopping Center

Denison, Texas -- From the time he was old enough to walk, Phillip Townsend toddled around the Denison Fire Department. And he grew up to become a firefighter, just like his father. The younger Mr. Townsend, a 31-year-old father of three, was killed Saturday morning while doing the job he grew up loving, Denison fire officials said. He died after part of a building collapsed on him and the Denison fire chief as they battled a blaze. Mr. Townsend and Chief Gordan Weger, 54, were driven to Texoma Medical Center in Denison, where Mr. Townsend died and Chief


Weger was treated and released, Sanitation driver formally charged in fatal accident

Altoona, PA - An Altoona man who drove the garbage truck his cousin fell off of last week was arrested Thursday on charges stemming from the fatal accident, city police said. Steven Wayne Rightenour Sr., 40, of 1020 Fourth Ave. was arrested at his home. He doesn’t have a listed telephone number and could not be reached for comment Friday. Rightenour was driving on a suspended license Dec. 26 when he swerved to avoid a collision with an oncoming vehicle on the 2200 block of 10th Avenue, court documents state.


RPU Worker Dies

ROCHESTER, MN -- An R.P.U. worker has died while on the job today in Northwest Rochester. It happened at this home near the 2700 block of Bandel drive around eleven this morning. An R.P.U. spokesperson says, the man was found unconsicious and taken by ambluance to Saint Marys hospital. We do not know the exact cause of death, but police tell us the man was not electrocuted. His name hasn't been released pending notification of relatives.


Grocery Store Owner Shot in the Head

Philadelphia, PA-December 30, 2006 - Police are searching for the gunman who shot a man in the head during an attempted robbery. It happened late Saturday afternoon in the 51-hundred block of Walnut Street in West Philadelphia. Police say the storeowner was shot in the jaw. The bullet exited the back of his head, but it looks like the victim is going to survive. Inside Sabah Grocery, pools of blood surround a box of sugar and bottles of Mountain Dew - signs of a struggle, say police. The owner, Bashir Ouazzani was shot in the head during an attempted robbery. Charles Groweles, a customer of Ouazzani's, told Action News, "He was the guy, if you were a little short of some change, he'd just say see you next time you come in. You know trying to get his business going."


Berks trash collector killed while working on truck

EXETER, PA -- An Exeter man was killed Friday afternoon after the trash truck he was working on broke free and pinned him to the ground, police said. At approximately 1:15 p.m., Leonard Kramlich Sr., who lives and operates his business, Lenny’s Sanitation Service, at 5581 Oley Turnpike Road, was working under the cab of a truck when the cab broke free and flipped forward onto him, police said.


Death of construction worker investigated

PLACIDA, FL -- Authorities are investigating to determine the circumstances that led to a construction worker falling to his death from a rooftop. Emilio Diaz, 31, of Arcadia, landed on his back and died from the fall, according to ABC Construction, the company that employed Diaz.


Shrimper killed when hair catches in pump

Bayou La Batre, AL-Richard Luther Rodgers, a 56-year-old commercial shrimper, was killed Saturday morning when his long hair became entangled in the shaft of the bilge pump aboard his brother's shrimp boat, said Rodgers' girlfriend, Debbie Jo Garrett. The incident occurred shortly after Rodgers left Bayou La Batre to fish for shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico, Garrett said Tuesday at the mobile home they shared on Padgett Switch Road in Irvington.


Worker Killed as Building Partially Collapses

NEW YORK, NY -- A construction worker died and two others were injured after a building under construction in Harlem partially collapsed early Tuesday afternoon, police said. Authorities responded to the call about the five-story, unoccupied tenement building located at 280 West 113th Street at about 12:30 p.m. said Emily Rahimi, a spokeswoman for the fire department. Some of the building's floors apparently gave way, officials said. No scaffolding was visible outside of the building, and the outer walls did not appear to be affected. A view from the roof of a nearby building showed that the top floors of the structure had fallen in. The victim has been identified as Richard Joseph, 33, of Brooklyn. The two injured workers were taken to St. Luke's Hospital and are listed in stable condition, 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan reported.


Cab driver identified; services set for today

WATERVLIET, NY -- Police on Tuesday identified the taxi driver killed by an alleged drunken driver this weekend as Donna Rehm of West Hoosick. The 57-year-old woman was driving through the city at about 9:45 p.m. Saturday night when Megan Vogel, 22, plowed into her taxi, authorities said.


Utility worker electrocuted in Greenville County

Greenville, SC - A utility worker has died after he was electrocuted while working on a pole in northern Greenville County. Greenville County Deputy Coroner Ken Coppins says 43-year-old Tim Oldham of Salem died Monday afternoon. Coppins says Oldham was working on a pole on State Highway 11 when he touched a live wire and fell to the ground. Oldham worked for Sumter Utilities. Coppins says the company and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the death.


Work restarted on wastewater treatment plant

SPOKANE, WA -- Work has restarted on a new addition to the wastewater treatment plant where a Post Falls man was killed in a construction accident last week. Construction was put on hold indefinitely following the death of 26-year-old Tizoc Gayton, an employee of Garco Construction, who was killed when a horizontal beam fell and killed him at the construction site last Tuesday.


Crash kills Milton detective; Fellow officers mourn death of 35-year veteran in Route 1 accident

MILTON, CO - Instead of talking about the approaching holidays, Milton police officers are mourning the death of a 35-year veteran detective who was killed in an accident near the Tobin Bridge tolls. ‘‘I’m devastated,’’ said Milton Deputy Police Chief Paul Nolan. Detective Michael A. Devin, 57, of Milton, was killed at 4:14 p.m. yesterday when a car driven by Stephen M. Parnell, 50, of Nashua, N.H., came the wrong way on Route 1 and crashed into Devin’s personal car. Parnell was also killed in the crash.


Tacoma Utilities Worker Dies After Storm Accident

TACOMA, Wash. -- Tacoma Power worker Bary Kensrud died Tuesday night from injuries sustained during cleanup after the Dec. 14 windstorm. On Dec. 17, Kensrud and a tree-trimming crew were sent to remove a tree that had fallen onto the road near North 29th Street and Mullen Street in Tacoma. When the crew arrived they discovered a downed power pole that limited access to the fallen tree. Kensrud was standing on the ground cutting away the pole, which released the tension on some communications cables that were under the pole, when the pole and lines hit him, throwing him across the alley. The crew called 911 immediately and Kensrud was transported to the hospital where he remained in critical condition until his death Tuesday. Tacoma Power is following normal accident review procedures and preparing incident report to share with Kensrud’s family.



Harford sheriff’s deputy killed in crash

Baltimore, MD -- After leaving his family's business to pursue his dream of working in law enforcement, William Beebe wasted no time working to make a mark as a Harford County Sheriff's deputy.

Late Monday, as his shift drew to a close, Beebe, 28, was on his way to assist fellow deputies on an attempted suicide call when his police cruiser ran off a neighborhood road in Abingdon, and careened down an embankment and into a shallow creek. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1 a.m. Tuesday.


Firefighter dies of injuries sustained in house fire

ATLANTA, GA - An Atlanta firefighter has died of injuries sustained fighting a house fire on Thanksgiving night. Officials say firefighter Steven Solomon died early today in Grady Memorial Hospital's burn unit. He was injured fighting a house fire in northwest Atlanta that investigators determined was sparked by an unattended candle left by homeless people staying in the unoccupied house.


Local firefighter dies on duty

MILLERTON — Family members, firefighters and others in the Millerton community are mourning the death of a lifelong firefighter who died in the line of duty Sunday.

Hector McClune, 76, died after collapsing at the scene of a grass fire about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the Millerton Fire Department said. He was one of about 25 firefighters who responded to the fire at Millerton Elementary School on South Elm Avenue in the village. Roger said it is believed McClune died of a heart attack, but the cause of death remains uncertain pending an autopsy. State police are investigating the fire.


Plumbing employee electrocuted near Roswell

ROSWELL N.M. -- A man trying to clear a sewer line at a home south of Roswell was electrocuted, Roswell police said. Cloys Dement, 48, an employee of C Reading Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, was killed Wednesday in what Roswell police are calling an industrial accident while he was operating machinery.

Dement was found about 11 a.m. at a home where he was doing repair work, Roswell police Cmdr. Tony Sedillo said. Dement was pronounced dead at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center. "He was conducting some outside plumbing work," Sedillo said. "It's very possible he electrocuted himself in the course of trying to clear the sewer line."


Carbon monoxide victim identified

SOMERSWORTH, DE -- A woman who died Tuesday from carbon monoxide poisoning while working on a home on Walnut Street was identified yesterday as Natalie Lufkin, 46, of Greenland. Lufkin, a contractor working in the home, was discovered passed out there Tuesday afternoon, a little before 3:30. Safety officials from Somersworth and Dover responded and Lufkin was taken to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Police said yesterday they believe Lufkin's death was an accident, but are continuing to investigate the incident along with fire department, the state Fire Marshal and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.


2nd Metro Worker Dies From Nov. 30 Accident

A second Metro employee who was hit last week by a Yellow Line train died yesterday, transit officials said. Matthew Brooks, 36, of Waldorf, was one of two trick inspectors hit by a four-car train Nov. 30 near the Eisenhower Avenue station.

Matthew Brooks was inspecting tracks when the train hit him. The other worker, Leslie Arvell Cherry, 52, who was known as Arvell, died on the day of the accident. Both were struck from behind.


Deadly gas blamed in death

Cuyahoga Heights, OH -- Troy L. Tetlak, 35, of Parma was killed by carbon monoxide while working Monday at Charter Steel in Cuyahoga Heights, Cuyahoga County Coroner Elizabeth Balraj said. He was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center at 8:13 p.m. and pronounced dead at 8:29 p.m., she said. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating. Tetlak had two sons, 10 and 6. His wife, Vickie, said he was an electrician hired by Charter Steel in August. "He went to work early Monday to get some overtime before Christmas," she said, sobbing. The company had not given her details about what her husband was doing when he was overcome by the odorless gas, which prevents the blood from carrying oxygen to vital organs. A company spokesman did not return a reporter's call.


Roofer dies in 18-foot fall into building Roofer dies in 18-foot fall

Town of Oconomowoc, WI - A 72-year-old roofer died from a head injury after falling 18 feet through a roof that was deemed unsafe by the Okauchee fire chief. Dane Delich, owner of Milwaukee-based D & S Roofing, was explaining something to one of his employees when he stepped off plywood on the roof and onto an area that was not supported by plywood, Police Chief James Wallis said.

Delich was on a job at Lake Country Concrete, N50-W34548 Road P, when the accident occurred at 11:25 a.m. Saturday, Wallis said. He fell through the roof, striking his head on maintenance equipment that was stored in the building. He died at the scene. Wallis said the roofing company placed the plywood on the roof for safety purposes, and that Delich had told others to stay off the roof because it was unsafe.


NorthWestern Energy lineman dies in work-related accident

BUTTE, MT -- A NorthWestern Energy lineman died Monday while clearing downed trees from a 115 kilovolt power line between Plains and Thompson Falls, the company said Tuesday. Nick Hegge, 52, was the company's town manager in Plains. Justin Myers, a Sanders County coroner, said Hegge was cutting at the base of a tree that had fallen on the power line. "The part he cut loose came down the hill and took him with it," Myers said Tuesday. Hegge rolled about 50 feet down an embankment and the tree landed on top of him, suffocating him, Myers said. He died at the scene.

Bronx: Man Crushed to Death

A Bronx man died yesterday after falling into the back of a cement-pumping truck, the police said. The man, Ramon Gonzalez, 40, was working in Morrisania about 4 p.m. when his shirt got caught and he was pulled into the machinery at the back of the truck. Firefighters pulled him out and he was taken to Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, where he was pronounced dead, the police said.


Motorcade cop dies

Honolulu, HA -- A motorcycle officer injured last week while escorting President Bush in the islands died Sunday, police said. Steve Favela, 30, and two other officers crashed their cycles as the presidential motorcade was traveling across Hickam Air Force Base next to Pearl Harbor to meet troops for breakfast Tuesday. The other officers were treated at The Queen's Medical Center and released. Favela, an eight-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department and father of four, had suffered internal injuries and had been listed in critical condition at the medical center.


Fatal forklift accident

Pittsburgh, PA -- A worker helping to unload a piece of equipment on a forklift was killed yesterday after the load shifted and pinned him against a trailer, authorities said. John Alan Malandro, 42, of Charleroi, died at 10:36 a.m., yesterday, while working at Spartech-Polycom in Donora, according to Washington County Coroner Tim Warco.

Mr. Malandro, who was employed by Staff Masters of Washington, Pa., was unloading the equipment from the trailer with a co-worker, who was operating the forklift, at the time of the 9:40 a.m. accident, authorities said.


Crash Kills Semi Truck Driver

Dearborn, MI -- A late night crash on Interstate 94 killed one man Friday night, according to Michigan State Police. The crash happened on eastbound I-94 in Dearborn, when the driver of a U.S. Postal Service truck lost control and crashed into a car on the side of the road. Michigan State Police told Local 4 the driver of the truck died in the accident.