Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

Our country loses far too many hard working people every day. Our hearts go out to the families who are or have faced a work related tragedy. Please let us know if we can help in any way.


Heat Blamed in Worker's Death

July 19, 2015 - Haltom City, TX - 25 year old Roendy Granillo was found by co-workers passed out at a construction site where they were working. He was transported to an area hospital where he died of heat stroke. His employer is not listed.

Officer Shot During Routine Stop

August 1, 2015 - Memphis, TN - 33 year old Sean Bolton, an officer for the Memphis Police Department, pulled in front of a car that was parked illegally, illuminating the vehicle with his spotlight. Bolton approached the car and was confronted by a passenger. A struggle ensued, ending when the passenger shot Bolton multiple times. Officer Bolton apparently interrupted some sort of drug transaction due to the drug paraphernalia found in the vehicle.

Officer Killed Responding to Call

August 5, 2015 - Shreveport, LA - 29 year old Shreveport Police Officer Thomas Joseph LaValley was dispatched to a house where people alerted him to a man inside who might have a warrant out for his arrest. LaValley was wearing his patrol uniform and after entering the house, told the suspect to show his hands but the man opened fire. He was transported to an area hospital where he died. The suspect was arrested and charged.

Ranch Hand Dies in Crash

August 8, 2015 - Auburn, CA - 50 year old Elder Guerra was a ranch hand on a private ranch on Rincon Way. He was driving an ATV down a steep roadway when he possibly lost control of the vehicle and it overturned down the hill, landing on him. Others on the ranch noticed he was missing and found him during their search. The name of the ranch is unknown.

Firefighter Struck by Falling Tree

August 8, 2015 - Placerville, CA - 21 year old Michael Hallenbeck of Shingle Springs was in his first year as a member of the US Forest Service's Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. It was also the first time he had fought a wild fire. He died on that first day when he was struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire south of Echo Summit in the El Dorado National Forest.

Road Worker Struck by Equipment

August 10, 2015 - Poth, TX - 66 year old Salvador Guillen of New Braunfels was killed on the job during a repaving project near Poth. He was struck by a piece of heavy equipment. He was employed by the New Braunfels based Dean Word Company working with the Texas Department of Transportation.

Man Dies in Vehicle Crash

August 13, 2015 - Carrollton, VA - 50 year old Richard Davis Wilkins of Windsor was killed on the job when his Dominion Power Freightliner truck struck a tree. It is suspected he had a medical event which caused him to drive off the roadway.

Man Dies in Trench Collapse

August 14, 2015 - Fort Dodge, IA - 49 year old William "Butch" Paterson of rural Otho was part of a crew installing sewer line as part of a renovation and expansion project in Fort Dodge when he was buried by about 20 feet of a three foot wide trench collapsed on him. He was employed by Riley-Armstrong Plumbing and Heating.
Authorities do not have a cause for the collapse at this time.

Two Men Die in Construction Incident

August 15, 2015 - Ellicott City, MD - 31 year old Rolando Lopez Mendez of Silver Springs and 31 year old Erik Morales Ortiz of Hyattsville were working from an aerial lift machine on a construction project in Ellicott City. They were both thrown from the bucket of the lift when it tipped over. Both were taken to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead. The men worked for Brothers Construction and Framing.

Workers Exposed to Toxic Chemical, One Dies

August 15, 2015 - Spokane, WA - 44 year old Edward K. Dumaw of Spokane Valley was one of eight workers who were exposed to chlorine gas that was released from a 1-ton cylinder August 12. The cylinder was punctured while crushing it for scrap metal, releasing the gas. Dumaw was the only worker who died from respiratory distress following the exposure. Pacific Steel and Recycling does not accept anything under pressure so they are searching for the person who recycling the cylinder and if they knew what it contained.

Army Golden Knight Dies in Jump

August 16, 2015 - Chicago, IL - 32 year old Sgt. 1st Class Corey Keith Hood of Cincinnati, OH was a seasoned member of the Army Golden Knights parachute team. He died after a mid-air collision at the Chicago Air and Water Show. He was injured August 15 when he collided in midair with a member of the Navy Leap Frogs team during a "bomb burst" movement in which they circle each other as red smoke swirls around them. After the collision and Hood's emergency chute deployed, he clipped a building as he fell.

Mid Air Collision Causes Four Deaths

August 16, 2015 - Otay Mesa, CA - A mid-air collision between a Sabreliner business jet and a light plane on approach to the Brown Field Municipal Airport caused the deaths of four aboard the jet and the pilot of the light plane who was practicing touch and go landings at the airport.
Sixty-six year old James Henry Hale of Adelanto, CA was the co-pilot of the Sabreliner jet and was a contract employee for military contractor BAE Systems. Thirty-four year old John Kovach, 40 year old Carlos Palos and 41 year old Jeff Percy, all of Mojave, CA were all BAE Systems employees who were taking part in a customer training project at the time of the crash.

Worker Dies After Lift Tips Over

August 17, 2015 - Taunton, MA - 48 year old Kevin Miranda of Somerset died on the job when a construction lift he was on tipped over. Miranda was working for the Taunton-based Skyline Contracting and Roofing, which was conducting an inspection on a large smokestack behind an elementary school in Taunton. Miranda was killed when the lift, owned by NES Rentals, tipped over at the work site, which was on a slope.

Worker Dies From Fall

August 17, 2015 - Madison, WI - 25 year old Christopher Michael Lord was set to marry his sweetheart on August 22nd. A week before his marriage he died after falling 60 feet on the construction site of a future apartment building in Madison.  Lord had worked as a carpenter for McGann Construction for about three years.

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