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Plant Worker Crushed by Steel Rack, Cables

The 26-year-old was pinned beneath 12 tons of metal.

Metromont
Amy Gehrt, @AmyGehrt

BARTOW, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a worker was crushed to death by a steel rack and cables at a Florida plant.

The Ledger reports that 26-year-old Jose Guadalupe Bustos was pinned beneath 12 tons of metal Nov. 10 at the Metromont Corp. plant in Bartow, which specializes in making precast concrete structures. 

The Polk County Sheriff's Office says Bustos had been operating a ceiling crane by a handheld remote when a hook caught a steel cable coil, tilting over the rack. 

Another worker, Loie Brakefield, was hospitalized with internal injuries. 

Jerome Batcher, a general manager for the South Carolina-based Metromont Corp., told deputies none of the plant's surveillance cameras captured the accident. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.


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