Weekly Toll: Tow Truck Drivers, Cops, Truck Drivers, School Workers

Much-Loved Tow Driver Killed While Helping Stranded Motorist

Saginaw, MI — For many, tow-truck driving may not seem like a very hazardous occupation. But according the owner of one tow-truck company, one tow truck driver gets killed almost every six days in the United States.For him, it’s not just a statistic. On Wednesday, Jan. 10, one of his friends and employees was killed. Bill Giorgis, the owner of Mike’s Wrecker Service in Saginaw, Michigan, got the horrible news on Wednesday night that a tow driver had been hit on Dixie Highway near Zelle Drive. “My heart sank. We knew we had a driver in the area,” Bill Giorgis told ABC-12. “When the police called us and there is an accident involving a tow man, and they weren’t sure if it was us or not, we immediately headed down there and we realized it was Tom.” “Tom” is Thomas Tripp, 41 – a long-time employee who was much loved around the shop.

Check Cashing Worker Killed In Apparent Robbery

LAS VEGAS, NV (KXNT) – A woman working in a check cashing business was shot and killed by a gunman as she opened the store for the day Thursday, according to authorities. The employee was entering the business on the 1400 block of North Jones Boulevard around 9:15 a.m. Thursday when the shooting occurred, a Las Vegas Metro Police statement reported.Investigators believe at least one suspect entered the building behind the woman and possibly attempted to rob her. During the encounter, the employee was shot.

Retired FDNY firefighter dies of cancer caused by working at WTC after 9/11

New York, NY — A retired FDNY lieutenant is the latest first responder to succumb to a Ground Zero-related cancer, authorities said Tuesday. Lt. Joe Stach, who spent 72 hours at the World Trade Center site immediately after the terror attacks and stayed there for weeks, died Sunday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, family members said. He was 51. Stach was a firefighter in 2001. He retired as a lieutenant in 2010, after 20 years with the department.

Tow truck driver killed in Petersburg neighborhood; suspect arrested

PETERSBURG, Va. — Police have arrested a suspect after a tow truck driver was found shot to death around midnight Thursday morning in a Petersburg neighborhood. Surveillance video time-stamped 11:46 p.m. showed a tow truck heading down Lakewood Drive towards Westwood. Minutes later, police received a 911 call from someone in the neighborhood. Police were called to the 3700 block of Westwood Drive near Lakewood Drive and South Crater Road at 12:09 a.m. When officers arrived, they found the body of 42-year-old Elwood A. Humphries of Williamsburg, a Petersburg Police spokesperson said.

Worker Dies in Fremont After Getting Pinned Between Big Rig, Loading Dock

Fremont, CA — A 30-year-old man died at work in Fremont Wednesday evening when he was pinned between a tractor trailer and a loading dock while helping the driver back into place, according to police. Emergency crews responded to a business in the 5900 block of Stewart Avenue just before 8 p.m. on report of a collision between a tractor trailer and a pedestrian. Investigators say the man was standing behind the tractor trailer, guiding the driver towards the loading dock when he was pinned in place. The driver backed all the way in and unhooked the trailer from the tractor. He found the victim, unresponsive, 15 minutes later. The driver moved the trailer, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. He’s been identified by the Alameda County coroner’s bureau as Fremont resident Travis Michael St. Amant.

65-year-old SC DOT worker dies after slipping, falling on snow and ice

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) — The Berkeley County Coroner’s Office has released the identity of the South Carolina Department of Transportation worker who died after slipping and falling on ice and snow on Friday, January 5. According to Coroner Bill Salisbury, the victim is Clyde McCants, 65, of Bonneau. Authorities say the incident happened in the DOT parking area while he was at work. Medics transported McCants to a local hospital where he died on Tuesday, January 9. An investigation conducted by the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office found the death was accidental and he died from head trauma.

Coroner ID’s victim in pedestrian bridge crash

CLARKSVILLE, Ind. (WHAS11) — The Clark County Coroner’s Office has identified the driver in Thursday morning’s crash on Brown Station Way as Garrett Suddeth, 45. According to Clarksville Town Manager Kevin Baity, emergency crews responded to an accident on Brown Station Way near McKinley Avenue around 9 a.m. Thursday. Crews found a Red Ball Recycling truck entangled with the pedestrian bridge in the middle of the road. Suddeth was pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials. Crews found the bridge caught in with the back of the truck, which does lift up, but officials are not sure whether the back was raised at the time of the crash. Investigators spent the morning and afternoon working on accident reconstruction.

Dallas Firefighters Removed The Body Of A Man Who Died After Touching Power Lines While Working On Famed Dance Club Lizard Lounge On Wednesday.

Dallas, TX — A man working on scaffolding located at the front of legendary Dallas dance club Lizard Lounge died on Tuesday after he touched a power line and was electrocuted. Lizard Lounge owner Don Nedler confirms to Central Track that the man was an independent contractor who was working on repairs to the building’s exterior along Swiss Avenue. According to reports, the man, whose identity has not yet been released by police, was working on the scaffolding outside Lizard Lounge’s front exterior when he came into contact with a power line right above the nightclub and fell as his body went limp. As he fell, his clothing was then caught on the scaffolding, leaving his body suspended mid-air.

Second Massachusetts worker dies while clearing snow

Douglass, MA — Massachusetts officials say a second worker died Monday due to snow removal stress while on the job. David Jones, 61, died after clearing snow for the Douglas Public School district, according to the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. Jones’ death marked the second snow-related death in less than four days in the Bay State. On Jan. 5, Gordon Van Russell collapsed and died while shoveling snow for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority in Arlington.

66-year-old man killed in dump truck rollover accident at Waste Management landfill in Franklin

FRANKLIN, WI – A 66-year-old man was killed in a dump truck rollover accident at a Waste Management landfill in Franklin. It happened Wednesday, January 10 just after 8 a.m. According to Franklin Police, when emergency officials arrived at the scene, the man was deceased.

Worker Killed After Being Drenched in Chemical

Moses Lake, WA — Dan Dishon, 39, an employee working for Moses Lake Industries was was killed after he hit a transducer on adjacent chemical tank while adding piping from a man-lift to a chemical tank on December 27. The piping broke releasing a chemical, drenching the employee. He was able to lower the man-lift, removed bump cap, continued to emergency wash, removed shirt and was assisted by co-workers in washing chemical off. Paramedics arrived shortly after exposure and employee was transported to MLK hospital and placed under an induced coma. The employee passed away on January 8. Dishon was also a Grant County Firefighter. (Source: Washington Dept. of Labor and Industries)

Officials: Worker killed in plant accident in North Carolina

CONCORD, NC — Officials at a North Carolina plant say a worker has been killed in what is being called an industrial accident. A statement from S&D Coffee and Tea said the worker was killed Monday morning. The worker’s identity hasn’t been released and the cause of the accident isn’t known. No further details of the accident were provided. The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. Officials said Cabarrus EMS was called to the facility for a traumatic emergency.

Worker Killed At Lorton Landfill Identified: Police

LORTON, VA — A worker killed in an accident Monday morning at the Lorton Landfill, 10001 Furnace Road, has been identified as Guido Maldonado, 52, of Gaithersburg, Md., according to Fairfax County Police. He was pinned between a waste loader and a tractor trailer, suffered injuries to his upper body and pronounced dead at the scene. Around 9:30 a.m., police went to the landfill after the accident was reported. They found that Maldonado was hit by a 2005 CAT Waste Handler that was backing up toward the tractor trailer.

Deadly Clinton Township workplace shooting result of altercation between employees

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Two people were shot, one fatally, at a business in Clinton Township on Tuesday morning. The incident happened at about 8:45 a.m. at Reliable Fence on Groesbeck Highway near 15 Mile Road. Police said two employees at Reliable Fence got into an altercation and one of the men pulled a gun. Authorities said the argument between the employees has been an ongoing dispute. A 34-year-old man was shot twice in the back as he ran away, according to police. Other employees jumped on the gunman and one man was fatally shot during the scuffle. “After the initial person got shot, the other employees ran over and were trying to wrestle the gun from the shooter,” Clinton Township police Capt. Richard Maierle. “The gun then went off and shot the business owner.” Tom Badke, the 61-year-old business owner, was shot in the head and died at the scene.

Truck driver killed in 5 Freeway crash

Atwater Village, CA — A truck driver was killed after his big-rig crashed early this morning on the northbound 5 Freeway in Atwater Village. All northbound lanes were closed, causing a major traffic back up in the area.

Employee falls from ladder, dies at Chaska school

Chaska, MN — A buildings and grounds employee working at a Chaska middle school fell off a ladder and died Monday morning, a spokesman for the Eastern Carver County School District confirmed. Daniel Buesgens was attempting to repair a heater in a maintenance room of the district’s recently opened domed athletic center adjacent to Chaska Middle School East. Buesgens fell off an 8-foot ladder in a room that is not in a public area of the building sometime after 8 a.m. and was found by another school employee, said spokesman Brett Johnson.

Advanced Disposal worker dies after being hit by car on I-75

Macon, GA — A man was hit by a car and killed Monday afternoon on northbound Interstate 75. Jimmy Lee Jordan, 47, was riding with a co-worker in an Advanced Disposal garbage truck just north of the Byron exit when the pair stopped on the right shoulder. It was unclear what happened before Jordan was hit by a gold sedan.

Two killed in weather-related crashes in Athens County

ATHENS, OH (WCMH) — It was a deadly morning for drivers in Athens County as two people were killed in separate crashes that authorities said are weather-related. A truck driver lost his life around 5 a.m. this morning after his 18-wheeler hit a slick spot in Athens County on US 33 near Richland Ave. and plunged off the bridge. Jeffery Byrd, 56, of Twin City, Georgia was the driver of the 18-wheeler that hit a guardrail and slid over the bridge barrier, according to the Athens Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.

Monroe PD officer killed in single-vehicle crash while on duty

MONROE, LA – An officer with the Monroe Police Department was killed in a single-vehicle crash early Sunday morning. According to a post on the Monroe PD’s Facebook page, Officer Chris Beaudion was involved in a single-vehicle crash early this morning while on duty. Beaudion served with Monroe PD from August 4, 2016, until his end of watch on January 7, 2018.

Pierce County deputy killed by fleeing burglar

Pierce County, WA — A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot late Sunday while chasing two burglars in the Frederickson area. Killed was Deputy Daniel A. McCartney, 34, of Yelm. “There’s a sadness that will be felt and should be felt in the community,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said Monday. “He is a young deputy who signed up to watch over other people. He had an ethic in his heart for doing something for other people.” McCartney was shot after deputies were called about 11:25 p.m. to a home in the 5100 block of 200th Street East for a home invasion.

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