Fatality Files
Worker Pinned by Auger Dies
A 46-year-old construction worker died after being involved in an auger incident in Port Kent, NY. Michael Bradley Loyer of South Burlington, VT, was using a Barbco auger while installing a large pipe, when the machine became stuck in the pipe. Loyer was ejected and became pinned under about the piece of equipment, weighing some 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms). A backhoe was used to move the auger off the victim, who was pronounced dead in hospital a short time afterwards. Loyer, who owned Trenchless Technologies of New England, Inc. with...
read more9/11 Changed the World Forever
Ten years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001, four coordinated attacks by the terrorist organization al-Qaeda brought much of the world to its knees and ushered in a new-normal sense of security, where no one is above suspicion. On that surreal day, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four large passenger jets with one unimaginable purpose in mind—inflicting as much death, mayhem and fear on the American public as possible. Two of the hijacked jets were deliberately flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and a third plane was purposely crashed...
read moreConstruction Worker Killed on Paving Project
A 34-year-old construction worker died after being struck in the head by a front-end loader at a paving project in Windsor, ON. Takis Escoto died in hospital. The operator of the loader that struck him was pacing up the street in tears as fellow workers tried to console him. Co-workers and people living in the area immediately began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but Escoto could not be saved. He had worked for Coco Paving Inc. since 2002. According to his obituary, “Takis had a generous and giving spirit and made everyone smile....
read moreBoom Lift Breaks, Killing 40-Year-Old Worker
A 40-year-old worker described by his boss as being “more like family” died from a traumatic brain injury after falling from a boom lift truck in North York, PA. Alan Price was working with a crew to remove a tree from a private residence when the boom lift he was using suddenly broke. The lift’s arm swung the bucket into the side of the truck and he was thrown about 50 feet (15 meters) to the ground. Price is survived by a wife, Taneka, and two teenage sons. Taneka, who worked for the same employer as her husband, C.J. Doudrick’s...
read moreCarnival Worker Dies in Ferris Wheel Fall
A 42-year-old carnival worker died as the result of a fall and another worker was critically injured after a safety cable reportedly snapped. The incident occurred at the Greensboro Youth Council Carnival site in Greensboro, NC, where workers were dismantling a ferris wheel at the end of the carnival. Michael Douglas Cook, 42, of Columbus, GA, was pronounced dead in hospital while the second worker, who was not identified, was hospitalized with critical injuries. Cook had worked for the carnival for a number of years and was extremely...
read moreYale Undergraduate Killed in Incident Involving Lathe
A Yale undergraduate was tragically killed when her hair became caught in a lathe she was using at the university. Michele Dufault, who was majoring in astronomy and physics, was working in a machine shop in a chemistry lab when the incident occurred. Dufault, 22, died as a result of asphyxia due to neck compression. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says it will be investigating her death and Yale president Richard Levin says the university will be reviewing safety policies and practices of laboratories, machine shops...
read moreYoung Worker Dies When Tree Breaks
A 24-year-old tree service worker died when the oak tree he was trimming near its top suddenly snapped at the base, throwing him to the ground and landing on him. Luke Stetson of East Windsor, CT, was wearing a safety harness attached to the tree and had just finished cutting a branch when the tree broke. While the oak looked healthy from the outside, the inside was badly rotted and could not sustain Stetson’s weight. He was alive when first responders arrived but he did not survive his severe injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health...
read moreCherry Picker Boom Snaps, Killing Worker
A 34-year-old married father of three young children died in Littleton, CO, after the articulated boom he was working from snapped, causing him to fall about 30 feet (9.1 meters). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the death of Adam Mackintosh, who operated his own company, Adam’s Tree Service. He is survived by wife Melanie, a two-year-old son, Adison and one-year-old twins Claire and Sophia. A trust fund has been set up to help the children. Mackintosh loved the outdoors, especially camping, fishing,...
read moreBoy Accompanying Dad to Work Dies
It was a parent’s worst nightmare. A young boy who had accompanied his father to his family-owned business died after being struck by a forklift while he stood in a parking lot. Joseph Trafican, 8, died in hospital in Woodland, CA, after a passing forklift struck him. The forklift operator told police he had not seen the child. The tragic incident occurred at PT Welding, owned by Joseph’s dad, Patrick Trafican. California’s workplace safety agency, Cal-OSHA, says it will not investigate the death, because there has to be a direct...
read moreWorker’s Widow Grateful Court Case Concluded
The wife of a worker who was fatally crushed by a heavy rack is grateful that her emotionally painful days of attending court hearings in connection with his death are over. Claudio Cardoso, 36, was painting a steel storage rack at Bravo Cement Contracting (Windsor) Inc. in Windsor, ON, in January 2009 when he fell from a ladder. He then tried grabbing the rack to stop his fall, but the steel rack, weighing about 1,400 pounds (635 kilograms) tipped over and fell, trapping him. Bravo Cement pleaded guilty to failing to secure the rack to...
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