Employee Falls 60 Feet to his Death, One of Several Employees Killed on Job this Month

Beaumont, TX (WorkersCompensation.com) – A 36-year-old Texas construction worker is dead after falling some 70 feet, police said.

His death was one of incidents where employees died in industrial accidents on the job over the past two weeks.

In Jefferson County, Texas, police said a construction worker died on Oct. 3 after falling 60 to 70 feet at a clean ammonia plant. Officials said the worker, Cameron Powell, 36, fell while working inside a tank at the Woodside Energy plant and did not provide details about the incident. Woodside Energy did say all of the other people at the plant were "safe and accounted for."

Powell was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office said that Judge Justin Chesson has ordered an autopsy.

“This is a very sad day, and I offer my deepest sympathy to our colleague’s family, friends and workmates," Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill said in the release. O’Neill said a full investigation into the incident will be conducted and that the facility was placed on a stand down of all work.

“The incident occurred during work activity being carried out at the site. All other people at the site are safe and accounted for,” the press release said. “The safety of our workforce is always our top priority, and we are providing full support to OCI and its contracting company. We are taking steps to understand the circumstances around this tragic event and are working closely with relevant authorities and regulators…”

In Ohio, a county highway worker died on the job when he was hit by a car.

Officials in Richland County, Ohio said 20-year-old Trenton Gallaway, of Lucas, Ohio, was working on a Richland County Highway Department crew doing intermittent moving road maintenance when he was hit. The accident happened on Oct. 2 in Franklin Township.

Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers said Gallaway was outside of a Highway Department vehicle when the driver of a Nissan Rogue SUV tried to pass the vehicle on the left striking Gallaway. Officials said he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gallaway had joined the highway department right after graduation from high school in June 2023.

“Everybody I have spoken to, including his family and other workers, said he enjoyed this type of work,” Richland County Engineer Adam Gove said Thursday afternoon. “He was a hard worker and just a good young man.”

The county said the accident remains under investigation and that the county ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in observance of his death.

In Arizona, a transit worker was killed in a crash between transit buses.

Police said 59-year-old George Meletis died after two Phoenix transit buses crashed into each other early in the morning on Oct. 1.

Phoenix police said when officers arrived, they found an injured man, Meletis, who was an employee of a third party company that runs the city buses, injured and on the ground. First responders attempted to give Meletis life-saving measures, but Meletis died at the scene.

Officials said Meletis was run over by a shuttle bus, called a Circulator. When two other employees inside the circulator turned the vehicle on it moved forward. Witnesses told police the driver of the shuttle bus took his foot off of the brake and it collided with a parked vehicle, then ran over Meletis. After the collision, police said, the shuttle bus crashed into a full-sized bus that was parked nearby. The full-sized bus was unoccupied at the time, officials said.

Two other men were found inside the bus with non-life threatening injuries. They were taken to a nearby hospital, treated and released.

All three of the men were employees of Valley Metro, Phoenix’s transit provider. Meletis was a safety trainer, family members said.

And in North Carolina, a man is dead after an incident involving a saw happened at a Wilkesboro lumber company.

According to the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office, 34-year old Jeremy Edward Roberts of North Wilkesboro was killed on Oct. 7 in an incident at High Country Lumber and Mulch in North Wilkesboro. Police said in a press release that Roberts died as the result of an accident involving a saw. Roberts was declared dead at the scene. No additional information about the accident was given.

The police department said the NC Department of Labor is investigating the incident.

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