Driver crushed under 24,000 pounds of shattered glass
Written by Kimberly Scott
October 5, 2016
ST. GEORGE — More than 20,000 pounds of glass reportedly crashed down on top of a man at a glass production facility in St. George Wednesday, according to witnesses at the scene of the incident.
Officials responded to a report of an “industrial accident” at Viracon, an architectural glass production facility located at 1586 E. Venture Drive, at approximately 8:45 a.m., St. George Fire Capt. Rick Nelson said.
A man was transported to a hospital facility via Life Flight following an industrial accident in which witnesses said 24,000 pounds of glass had fallen on top of him at Viracon, an architectural glass production facility located at 1586 E. Venture Drive, St. George, Utah, Oct. 5, 2016 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News
Preliminary reports indicate that the glass had fallen on a truck driver delivering glass to the facility.
“We had a gentleman delivering in a glass truck and, while they were unloading, the glass moved or shifted or something – it’s still being investigated so we don’t know exactly what’s going on yet – but it ended up shattered and the gentleman was trapped underneath the whole unit of glass,” Nelson said.
Dylan Westover, a witness at the scene, said he was told by a Viracon employee that the man was crushed by 24,000 pounds of glass.
Emergency crews and Viracon personnel were able to get the man out from underneath the shattered glass and initiate CPR, Nelson said.
“(We) did get a pulse before we left the scene,” Nelson said, “and so we hope for the best there.”
A man was transported to a hospital facility via Life Flight following an industrial accident in which witnesses said 24,000 pounds of glass had fallen on top of him at Viracon, an architectural glass production facility located at 1586 E. Venture Drive, St. George, Utah, Oct. 5, 2016 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News
The man was subsequently transported to a hospital facility via Life Flight. As this report is published, his identity had not been released.
Nelson commended Viracon employees for the way in which they efficiently handled the situation, adding that Viracon personnel were fully-equipped in safety gear trying to remove the glass when first responders arrived on scene.
“A lot of thought process goes into (the extrication),” Nelson said. “You’re worried about the safety (and) you’re worried about the other units of glass that may be unstable at that point.”
Viracon opened its 210,000-square-foot production facility in St. George in the spring of 2007.
Annette Panning, Viracon director of marketing and product management out of the company’s main corporate facility in Owatonna, Minnesota, was unable to confirm the weight of the glass that had fallen on the man.
Panning said Wednesday that the corporate office did not yet have the specifics of the accident and that the information would be forthcoming.
In terms of the general policy at Viracon, Panning said safety of employees is always foremost.
“I think it’s just an instinct when something happens, the individuals at any of our facilities take the precautionary measures for themselves and those around them, just naturally,” Panning said. “It’s beyond protocol. I truly do think that it’s so important in this organization that it becomes an instinctual reaction.”
Panning said she did not know the specifics of what was done during the process Wednesday morning to remove the glass or whether an injury of this nature or magnitude had previously ever occurred at the facility.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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Man critically injured by 9,000 pounds of glass in St. George accident
By Laura Withers - October 5, 2016
Photo Courtesy: Life Flight
ST. GEORGE, Utah, Oct. 5, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A truck driver was critically injured Wednesday morning while delivering a shipment of glass to the Viracon facility in St. George.
Swift Transportation driver Errick Holmes, 48, of Long Beach, California, was making a delivery to Viracon at 8:57 a.m., and was out of the truck when the load shifted, St. George Police Public Information Officer Lona Trombley said.
Holmes was crushed under 9,000 pounds of glass, and it took 33 minutes to free him, Trombley said. He was flown by Life Flight to Dixie Regional Medical Center in critical condition.
“He had several cuts and a lacerated liver,” Trombley told Gephardt Daily. “And he is having some issues with breathing, but he’s doing better (Wednesday afternoon) than he was initially.”
She said it was her understanding that Holmes’ family was headed for Utah, but she wasn’t sure if they had arrived yet.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Corporate Investor Information
Viracon is a member of the Architectural Products and Services segment of Apogee Enterprises, Inc.
Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOG) started as a single glass company in 1949 and in June 1971 went public. Over the years Apogee has become a leader in providing innovative solutions for the glass product, technology and service industries.
Apogee's lead businesses each operate in the top tier of their markets. Our businesses are divided into two key segments: Architectural Products and Services and Large-Scale Optical Technologies.
The Architectural Products and Services segment includes businesses that design, engineer, fabricate and install the walls of glass and windows comprising the outside skin of commercial and institutional buildings. The businesses in this segment are: Harmon, Inc., Linetec, Tubelite, Viracon and Wausau Window and Wall Systems.
All architectural glass fabricators may start out the same but that's where any similarity ends. It's what each fabricator brings to your project that makes all the difference.
From aesthetics, to strict environmental and energy specifications, to critical budget and delivery requirements, our input can make a difference. The fact is, our selection of innovative architectural glazing options combined with specification assistance and technical expertise can help make your vision a reality. Challenge us, you'll see.
Viracon is your single-source resource for innovative products, reliable service, valuable advice and technical expertise for:
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