Man Was Crushed When Machine Fell Off of Forklift

A 26-ton machine was being moved when it came off of a forklift.

Last Wednesday, we received a report of a 30-year-old man who was crushed to death by heavy equipment at Walther Engineering and Manufacturing in Franklin, OH.

The local coroner's office ruled the death an accident, but more details have emerged regarding how the accident happened.

The victim, Douglas Mescher, was working for SK Rigging, a 30-year-old company out of Cincinnati that specializes in moving machinery and relocating plants.

According to WCPO, Walther, which makes automotive parts, had contracted SK to move a 26-ton machine that came off of a forklift and crushed Mescher. Reporter Evan Millward tweeted a photo of the alleged machine that crushed Mescher.

IEN reached out to SK Rigging for a comment on the accident, but have not yet heard from the company.

OSHA is investigating the accident. In 2010, Walther was cited $6,773 for six serious OSHA violations, including material storage and machine guarding violations. According to WCPO, SK Rigging received an OSHA violation in 2000, but no further details are available.

This is IEN Now with David Mantey.

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