Arthur Levy, 48, of Vero Beach killed after his backpack-powered parachute impacted beach terrain on South Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Vero Beach man killed in paramotor accident in St. Lucie County
Laurie K. Blandford , laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com 

Published 5:51 p.m. ET May 11, 2017



ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A 48-year-old Vero Beach man was killed Thursday afternoon in a paramotor accident on Hutchinson Island, said St. Lucie County sheriff’s officials.

Arthur Levy died after his backpack-powered parachute crashed near Middle Cove Beach about 1 p.m. Thursday, officials said. Paramedics pronounced Levy dead at the scene.

A paramotor is a motorized, steerable paraglider that’s powered by a motor and propeller harnessed to the pilot’s back.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. No further information was available late Thursday.

In 2011, Levy was hospitalized after an accidental midair collision of two motor-powered paragliders, according to a Martin County sheriff’s report.

He plummeted 50 feet after the collision above Pasley Beach Park and was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce in good condition.

His flying partner, Richard Weston of Palm City, walked away after landing with a parachute. He sustained minor injuries that paramedics treated at the scene.

Just before the accident, Weston was in the air, waiting for Levy to take off so Weston could land. As Levy took off to the south, Weston descended, but Levy turned to the north and collided with Weston.

Weston inflated his parachute and safely descended. Levy fell directly to the ground, severely fracturing his right ankle. He also complained of neck and back pain.

Both of them had flown at the beach before, said Weston, who has seven years of experience flying paragliders.



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ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. - St. Lucie County detectives are trying to determine what caused an experienced power-paraglider to crash Thursday afternoon, killing him.

Investigators say Arthur Levy, 48, of Vero Beach, crashed near Middle Cove Beach in Fort Pierce around 1 p.m.

Friends of his say he had been flying for nearly 15 years.

“It’s one of those things where you know it’s a dangerous sport, but you never really think it will happen to you or anyone you know,” said Logan Fleisher.

Fleisher said Levy taught him how to get into the sport nearly 4 years ago.

Levy started as a ‘coach’, but the two became friends within Vero Beach’s small power- paragliding community.

“The paramotoring was his [life]. He lived and breathed it,“ Fleisher said. “We tried to get together as much as we could and go flying,”

Fleisher found out Thursday that the last outing the two had together about a month ago, would be their last.

“I saw it on the news. They didn’t say his name, but I noticed his wind,” Fleisher said. “We’re shocked.”

Levy made headlines back in 2011 when he had an in-air collision with another paraglider.

In that case, he was hospitalized, but Fleisher said even that crash did not keep him away from the sport.

Now, he’s hopeful for answers as to why Levy did not walk away this time.

“I don’t really think it was pilot error. He was great at it. He knew everything about the sport,” Fleisher said.

For Fleisher, it might finally be time, he says, to stay on the ground.

“It’s definitely a sobering reminder of what can happen and what could go wrong. I think it might be time to hang it up,” Fleisher said.


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BREAKING: Florida man killed when paraglider crashes along beach




Julius Whigham II Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
7:09 p.m Thursday, May 11, 2017


 
  A man operating a motorized paraglider was killed Thursday when he crashed on South Hutchinson Island, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said. 


FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA


A man operating a motorized paraglider was killed Thursday when he crashed on South Hutchinson Island, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators identified the man as Arthur Levy, 48, of Vero Beach. According to the sheriff’s office, Levy was using a backpack-powered parachute when he crashed shortly after 1 p.m. near Middle Cove on South Beach. He died at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation. No other details were released.

Stuart resident Ellen Goldberg said she and two others were at the beach in Jensen Beach around 1 p.m. when they saw a paraglider struggling to maintain control in an area populated by swimmers.

“We were on Jensen Beach and saw him struggling, very low, diving and zig-zagging,” she said. “He was close to the shore and headed north along the beach.”

Goldberg said she did not see the crash.

Last July, professional kitesurfer Damien LeRoy was injured in a motorized paragliding incident in Jupiter when he fell 150 feet to the ground. LeRoy told The Palm Beach Post that twisted steering lines sent him crashing into a mangrove thicket just north of the Juno Beach Pier.


He sustained, among other injuries, a broken left femur, a broken tail bone and a punctured left lung.

====================
Date: 11-MAY-2017
Time: 13:00
Type: Powered Paraglider
Owner/operator:

Registration:

C/n / msn:

Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Unknown
Location: St. Lucie County, South Hutchinson Island, Fort Pierce, FL - United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature: Unknown
Departure airport:

Destination airport:

Narrative:
The aircraft impacted beach terrain on South Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce, Florida. The powered paraglider (PPG) sustained unreported damage and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.

Sources:
http://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/st-lucie-county/2017/05/11/vero-beach-man--paramotor-accident/101568500/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime--law/breaking-florida-man-killed-when-paraglider-crashes-along-beach/BvLY8OfWjlFiEtzAFB1crN/
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Middle+Cove+Beach,+4600+S+Ocean+Dr,+Fort+Pierce,+FL+34949/@27.3953125,-80.2618384,18z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x88dee54cd90a70eb:0x46477489ea535370?hl=en-us

https://aerolight.com/A/index.php/products/powered-paragliding

Worker Gary Stephen Jordan, 64, was burned to death after an explosion while he was fueling the golf carts in the storage room at the Countryside Golf Course in Elkin, NC

WILKES COUNTY, N.C. – Countryside Golf Course in Elkin closed on Thursday after a worker was killed in a fiery explosion in the golf cart storage shed.


Fire investigators said Gary Steven Jordan, 64, was fueling the golf carts in the storage room when a fire broke out.

Firefighters don't know what caused the initial fire but they think the fuel from the golf carts sparked the explosion.

Jordan died on the scene.

Jordan's friend and co-worker, Wayne Tuttle, is still trying to process what happened.

"It's just hard to believe. I just don't know. Words can't say it," said Tuttle. "I don't have any feelings. I don't know what to feel."


Wayne Tuttle also works at the golf course. He says he's devastated about losing his friend and coworker fire. @WFMY pic.twitter.com/27Z1vWlJEE— Ben Powell (@benpowelltv) May 11, 2017

Tuttle says this tragedy couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

"He would help you out and do anything for you and never asked for nothing much in return," said Tuttle. "He was a standup guy. He helped me out a whole lot out here working when I needed help. He's just a good friend."

Tuttle says he wishes he could have been there to save his friend, but he was late to work Thursday.

"I don't know if I could've helped him if I would've been here. But then if I could've been here, I might've been there with him," said Tuttle.

The only people at the golf course at the time of the fire were two golfers who told firefighters they heard the explosion.

The golfers rushed to the scene but by the time they arrived, it was too late.

The fire from the explosion also destroyed more than 20 golf carts inside the building on the golf course located on Spicer Road in Elkin in Wilkes County.

The fire was so large it even damaged two cars in the parking lot.

The owner of the golf course says they'll be closed for several weeks until the damaged is repaired and the golf carts are replaced.

The fire is still under investigation but firefighters believe it was accidental.

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Wilkes man dies in fire at golf course

 

By Wendy Byerly Wood - wbyerly-wood@civitasmedia.com


Investigators are ruling a fatal fire Thursday morning at the Countryside Golf Course in Austin community as accidental.

According to Wilkes officials, Gary Stephen Jordan, 64, of North Wilkesboro, was filling the golf carts in the cart shed when the fire began. Austin Fire Chief Billy Vanhoy said some golfers who were on the course heard an explosion.

The structure fire was dispatched at about 7:30 a.m., and when firefighters arrived, the building was engulfed in flames, reported Chief Deputy David Carson of the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office. After extinguishing the fire, he said Jordan, who was an employee of the golf course, was found in the building.


“We believe he was filling the carts with fuel when the fire started,” Carson reported, but he could not verify what ignited the fire since he’d not had a chance to speak with fire investigators.

Jordan’s body was being transported to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for autopsy, said Carson.

Vanhoy said the building was a total loss.

Countryside Golf Course, a nine-hole course off Spicer Road, which is off Austin Little Mountain Road, Elkin, has been a destination for golfers for more than 30 years, Carson said, noting he played golf there in high school.

Agencies aiding at the fire included Austin, Pleasant Hill, Traphill and Shepherds Crossroads fire departments, the Wilkes Sheriff’s and Fire Marshal’s offices, the State Bureau of Investigation and Wilkes EMS, who assisted with fire standby.



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Wilkes man dies in structure fire at Austin golf course Thursday

A North Wilkesboro man died in a structure fire at Countryside Golf Course off Spicer Road in the Austin community Thursday morning.



Investigators believe Gary Jordan, 64, of Gwyn Street was smoking a cigar while putting gas in golf carts at Countryside and that the cigar ignited gas fumes, resulting in the fire, said Det. Tim Pardue of the Wilkes Sheriff’s Office.


Pardue said investigators were told that Jordan, who worked at Countryside on Thursdays, smoked cigars.


He said the fire was in a 60-foot-by-40-foot wooden frame building with a tin roof that contained about 25 electric and gas-powered golf carts and a 250-gallon gas tank, as well as mowing equipment.


Pardue said the building was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived and that Jordan was deceased when found toward the back of the structure.


Wilkes Medical Examiner Terry Taylor said the body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.


Taylor said two golfers were playing on hole three when the fire started said they spoke to Jordan and paid him their course fees a few minutes after 7 a.m.


A person who lives nearby reported the fire and the Wilkes Communications Center dispatched fire departments at 7:38 a.m.


Pardue said the two golfers stated that they saw a plume of smoke and heard an explosion while they were on hole three. He said the explosion likely was from the gas.


The building where Jordan was found and its contents were destroyed in the fire, he said.


Pardue said Jeff Mitchell and Joey Stone own Countryside Golf Course. He said he was told that they have insurance.


Jordan also sold newspapers on the Main Street of North Wilkesboro for the Wilkes Journal-Patriot.


The fire was in the Austin Fire District and responding were the Austin, Traphill, Pleasant Hill and Shepherds Crossroads fire departments. Wilkes Emergency Medical Services and Niki Hamby, fire investigator with the sheriff’s office, also responded.

Spicer Road is off Austin-Little Mountain Road.

A 34-year-old equipment operator crushed to death by an excavator that tipped over in West Vancouver

Last Updated Thursday, May 11, 2017 6:10PM PDT


A 34-year-old equipment operator is dead after being crushed by an excavator at a construction site in West Vancouver.

The worker was thrown from the machine after it tipped over while he was working on a steep slope, according to police.

The unnamed victim was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the efforts of first responders.


WorksafeBC, the BC Coroners Service and West Vancouver Police are now all investigating the fatal accident, which happened on Chippendale Road Wednesday afternoon.

The identity of the deceased has not been released, and victim services are helping friends and co-workers of the victim.

1 construction worker died and another critically injured after a three-story fall at the Mary Eaves apartment complex under construction by the Summit Contracting Group, Inc, Vestcor Companies, Inc., PQH Group Design Inc.,

Jacksonville police said two construction workers were loading supplies into a third-story window from a wooden crate hoisted by this lift Thursday afternoon when the crate fell, pulling the workers down with it. It’s not clear if they were wearing harnesses. (Garrett Pelican/Florida Times-Union)

Marc and Nicole Padgett, Summit’s owners

One worker died and another was critically injured Thursday after a three-story fall at a construction site near Myrtle Avenue and West 16th Street, authorities said.


The accident occurred about 11:50 a.m. at the Mary Eaves apartment complex under construction in the 1200 block of West 16th Street. 

The project is constructed by The Vestcor Companies, Inc. along with their partners, Summit Contracting Group, the general contractor on the 16th Street construction project.

 
The men were working out of a wooden crate perched atop a hydraulic lift, loading doors into a third-story window, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

The pair fell when the crate they were using as a platform tipped over and came crashing to the ground, said Sgt. David Smith. It’s unclear if the workers were strapped into harnesses.

“It came loose from the lift and fell to the ground, taking them with it,” Smith said.

Paramedics pronounced one worker dead at the scene, Smith said. Another was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The names of the victims were not immediately released because families have not yet been notified. Smith described them as being in their 40s and 30s.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident. Bud Underwood, assistant area director for OSHA, said two compliance officers were onsite for hours documenting what took place.

“They’re doing interviews and gathering folks up, trying to figure out what the hell went wrong,” Underwood said.

The fall comes the same week as OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. The initiative is marked by voluntary events for employers to educate and have dialogue with employees about workplace hazards, prevention methods and safety policies.

Workplace falls are a leading cause of death for construction employees, making up 350 of the 937 construction fatalities nationwide in 2015, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Florida has the second-highest fatality rate in the country for workplace accidents.

“This young man didn’t deserve what happened today,” Underwood said. “We need to do better.”

The Northeast Florida Safety Council, a nonprofit that offers occupational safety classes free of charge, had an open demonstration of fall protection devices and practices Thursday morning. Organizers said the turnout was underwhelming.

Roughly a dozen people took part. No one from Summit Contracting Group, the general contractor on the 16th Street construction project, was in attendance, according to the safety council.

“You’d think people would be lined up to attend, especially because it’s free,” said Bruce Press, the nonprofit’s member services representative.

Based on news coverage of the incident he had seen, Press expressed outrage at the death that he called “absolutely preventable.”

“There’s nothing about what they did that was remotely acceptable or correct,” he said. “If they had just used the right equipment, the right safety practices, this would not have happened.”

Marc and Nicole Padgett, Summit’s owners, offered condolences to the men’s loved ones when reached by phone but said none of the firm’s employees were involved. They said the men were hired by a subcontractor but did not say which one.

“Our hearts go out to the families,” Nicole Padgett said. 




Mary Eaves Apartments in Jacksonville, FL is a senior living community that will consist of 80 units in 1 building and will be 81,867 square feet.

The partners include Summit Contracting Group, Inc., Vestcor, PQH Group Design Inc., and several Subcontractors.

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Summit Contracting Group, the contractor overseeing site of deadly Jacksonville accident has been hit with OSHA violations before


by: Lorena Inclan, Action News Jax Updated: May 12, 2017 - 10:31 PM



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A man believed to be in his 40s is dead after a workplace accident at a construction site in Durkeeville on West 16th Street.

A 30-year-old man was also injured after falling on his back at the same site Thursday.

Charlie McCloud, who lives next door to the construction zone, said he was sitting on his porch when it happened.

“It was all quiet, next thing you know you hear -- I won't say a loud boom -- more like a popping sound,” McCloud said.

This police report shows one worker died at the scene and the other was transported to UF Health.

“I knew it was coming from this direction. Then I went to the store like an hour later, they had it all roped off and stuff,” McCloud said.

Sky Action News Jax captured exclusive aerial video of JSO at the construction site which is the future Mary Eaves Apartments location.

The employees involved in the accident were working for M & R Construction, who is a subcontractor to Building Materials and Construction Services.

According to the police report, the company overseeing the project, Summit Contracting Group, has been cited by OSHA in the past.

It’s most recent citation is from February of last year which found employees were exposed to fall hazards.

OSHA is now investigating Thursday afternoon’s incident.

Action News Jax tried calling M & R Construction but no one answered. A short time later, someone called reporter Lorena Inclan back and as soon as she introduced herself, the caller hung up.

Summit Contracting Group’s Chief Administrative Officer, Nicole Padgett, sent Action News Jax the following statement:

“Summit Contracting Group, Inc. sends its deepest condolences to the family that lost a loved one in the tragic accident yesterday, and our thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery to the worker who was injured. The two workers were employed by M&R Construction, LLC, who is a subcontractor to Building Materials and Construction Services.

"OSHA is currently investigating the accident and Summit is providing OSHA with all requested information necessary for OSHA to complete its investigation. Summit has no further comment on this active OSHA investigation other than to reiterate our commitment to job site safety, including our commitment to fully cooperate with the OSHA investigation.”

Buffalo Farms Freezer and Cold Storage Warehouse Facility is on fire in Hammonton, NJ

HAMMONTON, N.J. -- Atlantic County fire crews are on the scene of a multi-alarm blaze in Hammonton.

The fire started before 9 p.m. Thursday on the 200 block of Pine Road.

Firefighters arrived to heavy flames showing inside the Buffalo Farms Freezer and Cold Storage Warehouse Facility.

The warehouse is reportedly 500 by 500 feet, and the fire spread to several tractor trailers.

So far, there are no reports of injuries.

No word on what caused the fire.

Buffalo Farms Freezer and Cold Storage has over 40,000 square feet of cold storage, freezer, and repack space located in Hammonton, NJ. They are a third generation produce grower, shipper, and importer located in Hammonton, NJ.