Workers Killed in Separate Accidents at Work

Safety at Work

Perth Amboy, NJ (WorkersCompensation.com) -- A 38-year-old worker is dead following an accident at a Home Depot warehouse, officials in New Jersey said.

The accident is one of several where employees died on the job over the past few weeks.

In Perth Amboy, N.J., officials said the worker was hit by a delivery truck at the warehouse. Police responded to the incident a little before 7 a.m. on Feb. 18, and found the man on the loading dock, unresponsive and not breathing. Paramedics pronounced him dead on the scene.

Investigators said the driver of the delivery truck remained on the scene and was cooperating with police. The Perth Amboy Police Department said it was investigating the accident, and that OSHA had also been called to the warehouse.

In Kentucky, a factory worker was killed in an industrial accident, officials said.

Police in Williamsburg said an employee at the Firestone automotive air springs manufacturing plant was killed on Feb. 18. The employee, Jack Henson, 51, of Corbin, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Officials said Henson was using a piece of equipment on the warehouse side of the plant when there was an accident involving a standing rack.

Firestone Airide is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Inc, and the 400,000-square-foot plant produces rubber air springs used in commercial vehicle suspensions.

In a statement Thursday, Bridgestone said an investigation into what happened was ongoing.

“The well-being and safety of our employees, contractors, and visitors is our most important value,” the company said in a statement.

The plant had previously earned global company distinction in 2019 for having gone 4 million working hours without a lost-time injury. Additionally, the facility has earned five Kentucky Governor’s Safety and Health Awards, most recently in 2018.

The investigation is ongoing, officials said.

In Belle Rose, La., a 60-year-old plant worker died after being struck by a loose hose.

Assumption Parish Coroner Keith Landry told WBRZ the plant worker, Keith Foreman, was one of three crew members doing a routine pressure test on a brine well at the GIE plant on Sunday when equipment failed. Foreman and two other were struck by a loose hose after the equipment failed.

The two injured workers were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment via AirMed. State Police Hazmat is investigating the accident, officials said.

In Newton, Kan., a man was killed in a grain bin accident.

Mark Klaassen, 37, was working at the grain bin Saturday on a farm near Spencer Road and Southeast 24th Street moving soybeans inside the bin. The Harvey County Sheriff’s Office said the soybeans suddenly shifted, trapping and injuring Klaassen.

He was declared dead at the scene. Two others were injured in the incident, but they declined medical treatment.

And in Lancaster Township, Penn., an Amtrak worker was hit by a passing train and killed on Feb. 23.

Jeremy Charles, 39, was working with an Amtrak crew on the tracks, officials said, when he was hit by a passing train. The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office said the Amtrak maintenance worker was walking on the railroad tracks when he was hit.

The cause and manner of his death have not yet been determined.

Officials said investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are headed to the area to look into the incident.

In a statement, Amtrak acknowledged the worker’s passing.

"Amtrak extends our profound condolences to the family of an employee who suffered a fatal injury today on the Harrisburg Line near Lancaster, Pa. Our thoughts are with their loved ones during this difficult time,” the company said in a statement. "All service is suspended on the Keystone Service route for the remainder of the day (Monday) while the incident is under investigation."

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