OSHA report finds no safety violations in death of flagger on Route 12 in NH
By MEGHAN PIERCE
Union Leader Correspondent
FITZWILLIAM, NH — A federal agency has concluded there were no violations of federal workplace safety standards when a flagger working on Route 12 in January was struck and killed by a vehicle.
Edward Weeks, 63, of Surry was struck and killed by a vehicle Jan. 22 on Route 12 in Fitzwilliam while he was working as a flagger for New England Traffic Control Services, an Epsom-based company. The traffic control company had been contracted by Eversource, which was working on a project on Route 12 at the time.
As with any workplace fatality the Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into the death, OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said Wednesday.
OSHA found no violations, he said.
“Basically, OSHA did conduct an inspection and found that the company didn’t violate any OSHA standards,” Fitzgerald said of the traffic control company.
Eversource also was investigated and no violations were found, he added.
So neither company will be cited or fined, he said.
Weeks was struck by a Nissan Rogue, driven by Pamela Denomme, 20, of North Smithfield, R.I., police said. Weeks died of injuries sustained from the impact of the Nissan and was declared dead at the scene of the collision.
“Obviously the family is disappointed by some of the conclusions,” said Charlie Donahue of Keene, the family’s attorney. “The family is still grieving. As you can image, it’s still very raw.”
Donahue said although the OSHA investigation has concluded, the inquiry into Weeks’ death is not over.
Donahue said the family’s private investigation into Weeks’ death continues. Any OSHA investigation is going to be limited in its scope, Donahue said, and this particular case involved a “complex set of circumstances.”
“The OSHA report is what it is. It’s a very small piece of a much bigger and tragic story,” Donahue said.