Employee Killed Inside Cement Mixer at Work

Safety at Work

Trussville, AL (WorkersCompensation.com) – The Jefferson County Coroner said an industrial worker was inside of a concrete mixer when he died last week.

His death was one of many employees killed on the job in the past month.

Edgar Earl Davis IV, 29, of Odenville, was working for Infinite Precast doing maintenance when he crawled into an industrial concrete mixer to repair an issue, officials said. Davis was a certified operator of the machine and was an authorized user.

Trussville Police Lt. Clint Riner said Davis was using other tools, including an air-powered chisel that may have contributed to his death.

“An unfortunate event occurred inside of the mixer that caused injury ultimately resulting in the loss of his life,” Riner said. “The employee had injuries to his head and leg.”

Riner said the mixer’s main power was shut off and it is not believed to have been activated while the employee was inside.

The Trussville Police said they were investigating the incident.

Davis was one of a number of employees killed in accidents on the job this past week.

In Hartford, Vermont, a worker died in an incident at a recycling center on Sept. 10.

Officials said 76-year-old Paul Smollin was standing behind his truck at the Harford Recycling and Waste Management Center. Smollin had lowered the tailgate to check the bed of the truck when another truck accelerated, pinning him between the two trucks. He suffered a leg injury at the scene but had a heart attack as a result of the accident and died. Police said they are still investigating the incident.

In Carteret County, North Carolina, a state employee died trying to save a struggling coworker.

Deputies said 52-year-old Marc Hamric, of Atlantic Beach, worked for the Marine Fisheries and was gathering water sample collections in Turnagain Bay on Sept. 10.

Carteret County deputies said the boat Hamric and others were working from started to drift away. Hamric entered the water wearing waders. He tried to help his coworker who made it to the boat but couldn’t get in it. Hamric then took off his waders to swim back to shore for help. Witnesses said Hamric went under the water, and coworkers were able to pull him out within minutes. The coworkers then tried CPR on Hamric.

They were not able to revive him.

Officials said Hamric was named a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Distinguished Employee Award winner.

That incident is also under investigation, but no foul play is suspected.

In Ilion, New York, a city employee was killed when he was electrocuted.

Village of Ilion officials said Phil Whynot, foreman with the city’s Electric Department, was working with two other crew members running a chase line to prepare for future electrical work, when he accidentally made contact with a part of the transformer that was energized.

Officials said Whynot had been with the department since 2006. The incident killed him immediately, officials said. Ilion Fire, Police and Electric departments responded to the scene on August 28, but they were not able to revive him.

In New Hampshire, a worker at a storage facility died after being pinned under a golf cart.

Iain Walton was working alone at Extra Space Storage in Marlborough, N.H., when he was killed in what police termed an “unfortunate accident.”

Police said Walton was driving the golf cart when it overturned and pinned him underneath it on Sept. 3. Fire and police officials said they were called to the scene by an employee at a nearby motel. Officers freed Walton and tried to save him using and AED. He was transported to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigators believe Walton was attempting a three-point turn on the golf cart and that the cart rolled over an edge and down an embankment. Police said he was not wearing a seat belt, and that the vehicle was in neutral.

The department said the death was an "unfortunate accident," and that no criminal charges are expected to be filed.

Share This Article: