Posted with permission from Confined Space, a newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues.
Waffle House shooting: Police release names of victims killed in Nashville attack
Nashville, TN — Nashville police have released the names four people who were shot and killed Sunday morning after a gunman opened fire on a Waffle House in Antioch. Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville was an employee of the Waffle House. He was fatally wounded standing outside the restaurant. Police say Travis Reinking, 29, used an AR-15 assault-style rifle in the attack. They say he started shooting from the parking lot before entering the diner, where he continued shooting. A patron at the Waffle House named James Shaw Jr. wrested the gun from the shooter’s hands as the person tried to reload the weapon.
1,980-foot TV tower collapse in Webster County; 1 dead, several injured, officials say
Springfield, MO — A TV tower in Webster County collapsed Thursday morning, killing a man and injuring several other people, according to the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District. The tower was used to broadcast KOZK Ozarks Public Television, according to a spokeswoman for Missouri State University. Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole said Stephen Lemay, 56, of Washington state was killed while working on the tower that collapsed.
Paterson police officer killed in patrol car crash
PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) — Authorities say a Paterson, New Jersey police officer was killed in a car crash Sunday morning. At about 10:50 a.m., police responded to the area of 150 Getty Avenue in Paterson in response to a vehicle collision. The Passaic County Prosecutor says Officer Tamby Yagan was driving a marked patrol unit when it collided with a parked vehicle. Officer Yagan was responding to a call when he swerved and crossed the double yellow line. He was the only person involved in the crash and was pronounced dead at Saint Joseph’s Regional Medical Center. No one else was injured.
Two Florida Officers Killed By Gunman Who Ambushed Them as They Ate Lunch
Trenton, FL — Two Florida sheriff’s deputies were killed on Thursday afternoon when a gunman ambushed them as they ate their lunch. Sergeant Noel Ramerez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey had just gotten their food at Ace China restaurant in the small town of Trenton, Florida — about 30 miles west of Gainesville. A man, later identified as 59-year-old John Hubert Highnote, approached the window of the restaurant and opened fire. According to the Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz, Highnote “shot both men without warning."
Sheriff’s deputy, 26, killed in Missouri while responding to an emergency call
Eldon, MO — A deputy was killed while responding to a 911 call at about 6 p.m. Friday in central Missouri. Deputy Casey Shoemate, 26, of Eldon, 26, was traveling on Missouri Highway Y in the western part of Miller County when he encountered a fire truck traveling in the same direction, according to Sgt. Scott White, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol. The deputy attempted to pass the fire truck in a no-passing area, White said. The fire truck was responding to a different call and did not have its emergency lights or siren on. After the deputy crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic, he collided head-on with a Toyota 4Runner The deputy, who was in a Dodge Charger, was pronounced dead on the scene.
Semi-truck driver killed in overturn crash on freeway transition road in Whittier
WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) — The driver of a semi-truck was killed Thursday evening in an overturn crash on the transition road from the westbound 60 Freeway to the 605 Freeway in Whittier, authorities said. The single-vehicle incident was reported shortly before 11 p.m. and prompted the California Highway Patrol to issue a Sigalert. The unidentified driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The collision was caused by speeding, according to CHP investigators.
Family and friends mourn the loss of construction worker killed in Grove City
Grove City, OH — The family of a construction worker killed in an accident in an elevator shaft Tuesday at the site for the new Mount Carmel Grove City hospital is thanking the Central Ohio community for the support they are receiving. Randy Wilson, 44 was pronounced dead the the North Meadows Drive site just before 1:00 p.m. His sisters Stacie Spears, According to OSHA reports for the elevator company, ThyssenKrup has had one death of a maintenance worker killed when he fell down an elevator shaft in 2013 in Dallas.
Cement truck driver killed in rollover crash near Fulshear
FULSHEAR, Texas (KTRK) — Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office is investigating what caused a cement truck crash. Constables tell Eyewitness News it appears the driver crashed after swerving in the road, over-correcting and losing control of the truck. The driver of the truck was pinned underneath the vehicle. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
85-Year-Old Dump Truck Driver Killed in Crash With Tractor-Trailer
Prince George’s County, MD — An 85-year-old man died near Prince George’s Community College on Friday afternoon when the dump truck he was driving collided with a stopped tractor-trailer, police said. About 11 a.m., the dump truck carrying a load of dirt hit the back of the tractor-trailer at a traffic signal. It appeared the bed of the tractor-trailer slammed through the dump truck’s cabin. Officials said the driver died immediately.
Investigations underway after Atlas Welding employee death
Tuscaloosa, AL — Officials are investigating the death of an Atlas Welding employee who died on the job Monday. Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service paramedics responded to a 911 call that a man was trapped under a forklift that had flipped Monday afternoon. Firefighters arrived to find that the man, 60, was in cardiac arrest, said Fire Marshal Gene Holcomb, a TFRS spokesman.
Falls, Equipment Encounters Kill Four California Workers
California — In California during the first two weeks of April four workers suffered workplace fatalities. Those include two falls and two other incidents involving machinery and equipment. The falls were both in Southern California. In Lost Hills, an employee of Reyes Trucking was placing a tarp on a trailer when he fell some 15 feet, suffering fatal injuries. In Van Nuys, an employee of Norman Jacobson Management Co. fell about 22 feet from an apartment complex roof while trimming a tree in late March. He died about two weeks later. In Novato, a beekeeper for Tauzer Apiaries, Inc., was moving bee boxes in a forklift when he was crushed. No other details are yet available on this incident. And in San Ramon, an employee of Amazon’s Landscaping died as the result of being pulled into a stump grinder.
Gainesville golf course employee killed in mowing accident
Gainesville, FL — A City of Gainesville employee was killed Thursday, April 19, at the Chattahoochee Golf Course. David Rodger Silcox, 69, was reportedly mowing grass near the green on the 17th hole at about 10:30 a.m. when the accident occurred. Hall County Coroner Marion Merck said Silcox was using a heavy-duty lawn mower that overturned on him. He was found by another employee and pronounced dead on scene, according to city officials.
Landscaper killed by hit-and-run driver near Oroville
Oroville, CA — A landscaper was killed by a hit-and-run driver Thursday afternoon south of Oroville, and officers remained on the hunt for the driver, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash happened about 1:25 p.m. Thursday on Foothill Boulevard near Lower Wyandotte Road. CHP officer Ryan Lambert said the worker, a 47-year-old man from Oroville, was doing some landscape or maintenance work in an orchard when he was struck by a vehicle, which was described as a full-sized gray or silver mid-2000s model Dodge pickup. The pickup struck the worker, fencing and a power pole before fleeing the scene, Lambert said. The pole was sheared at the base and fell over. The worker died from injuries suffered in the crash.
PUD employee dies in accident
Port Townsend, WA –– Robert Wayne Phillips, a 13-year employee of Jefferson County Public Utility District, died April 16 after the PUD truck he was driving on State Route 20 drifted off the road and into a ravine, striking a tree. Phillips, 72, was driving a 2012 Chevrolet Colorado pickup eastbound on SR 20 at 11:25 a.m. when his utility truck left the road. He was returning to the PUD’s Four Corners operations center after checking on PUD projects around Jefferson County, PUD communications manager Will O’Donnell wrote in a press release. The front left side of the truck hit a tree, and the tree broke about 30 feet from the ground, falling on a guardrail and partially across the highway, said Jefferson County Undersheriff Art Frank
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