Aluminum spool falls from crane onto worker, killing him at warehouse
By Sarah Schulte and WLS Digital Team
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CAROL STREAM, Illinois (WLS) — An aluminum spool fell from a crane onto a worker, killing him at a west suburban warehouse on Tuesday.
Carol Stream fire and police officials responded to a warehouse at 457 Saint Paul Blvd. just after noon.
What is being called a workplace accident happened inside the warehouse, which belongs to S&S International, a small, family-run stainless steel company.
A truck driver had pulled his rig into one of the bays to load up spools of aluminum. An employee, a 55-year-old man, was helping load a large metal spool onto the flatbed truck.
Cranes are attached to the rafters to transport the spools to trucks. Police say a piece of the crane broke, possibly a strap, causing one of the spools to fall on the employee.
Police say spools are possibly about 48,000 pounds. The man died immediately.
One truck driver waiting outside to load up his truck says he heard a loud pop when the accident occurred.
The employee’s identity was not immediately released.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials arrived on scene before 4 p.m. to investigate, and the fire department was there to help remove the body safely.
The Carol Stream Police Department is conducting its own non-criminal death investigation.
No one from the company was immediately available for comment on Tuesday.
Further information was not immediately available.
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