The state’s safety arm will be investigating an October 23 industrial accident in Lowell that killed a Wanatah man.
The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration has received a report of the accident that killed Zachary Brown, 26, said IOSHA spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland Thursday. Brown died of “blunt force injuries” when he was struck by an excavator, according to a Lake County Coroner’s office release.
“I can confirm that we have received a report that there was a fatality in Lowell with RR Sewer Water Excavation (of Crete, Illinois), and we are initiating a safety compliance inspection,” McFarland said.
Safety compliance inspections can take up to 180 days to complete, and if IOSHA determines in the process that an employer hasn’t followed safety protocols, that employer will be issued a safety order, she added.
The Lowell Fire Department and Tri-Creek EMS were dispatched to the Kingston Ridge subdivision in the early afternoon October 23 for a man in a trench in cardiac arrest, Lowell Fire Lt. Dominic Schmidt said Thursday. With limited information, they also called in the District One Rescue Team, Schmidt said.
When they arrived, they found Brown wasn’t trapped but had been struck by an excavator, Schmidt said.
The accident was turned over to the Lowell Police Department for further investigation, he said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.