Milan Man Killed In Logging Accident
Posted On August 11, 2016
By Mike Perleberg
Update published at 4:18 p.m.:
Rich Solano, corporate treasurer at Pike Lumber Company’s Akron, Indiana corporate headquarters made the following statement:
“Josh was a valued employee. He’s been with the company for just over nine years. He was a great guy and a very loving husband and father”.
Original story published at 11:46 a.m.:
(Ripley County, Ind.) – A lumberjack died in a tree-cutting accident in Ripley County.
Employees of Pike Lumber were working at a location along the 2100 block of State Road 229 east of Napoleon Wednesday morning, according to the Ripley County Sheriff’s Office.
Josh W. Beam, of Milan, was cutting a tree alone when a large limb fell and struck him. Two other employees nearby located him and called 911.
Beam, 33, died despite the efforts of his co-workers and first responders to resuscitate him at the scene.
According to his Facebook page, Beam had just started working this month as a timber cutter at Pike Lumber. Management at the company’s Milan operation was not prepared to comment Thursday morning, but indicated a statement regarding the employee’s death could be forthcoming.
The investigation into the logging accident is ongoing by the Ripley County Sheriff’s Office and the Ripley County Coroner. Other responding agencies included Ripley County Paramedic, Batesville Fire and Rescue, and the Napoleon Fire Department.