JEFFERSONVILLE — Clark County Coroner Billy Scott has ruled multiple blunt-force trauma as the preliminary cause of death for an employee who died at a plant in the River Ridge Commerce Center Saturday.
Melissa Stephens, 44, died late Saturday after an accident with a machine at Autoneum, a Swiss-based company that manufactures GM and Ford parts, Scott said.
Jeffersonville Police responded to the incident just after midnight Sunday. But since it is not believed to be a criminal death investigation, it is now in the hands of the Clark County Coroner's Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA.)
Stephens' autopsy was performed early Monday morning, Scott said. Official results will take a few weeks, pending a toxicology report.
Hollis said Stephens' death is the second fatality within the past year at River Ridge. In November, 33-year-old employee of Florida-based construction company Gardner-Watson fell 50 feet to his death from a ladder.
In May, Autoneum's Toledo, Ohio, plant was cited nearly $570,000 for violations following the amputation of an employee's hand, wrist and part of his forearm. Included in the citation were three “willful violations,” which means the company was aware of them, and two repeated violations.
The company provided a statement today regarding the death at the Jeffersonville facility.
"We confirm that a fatal accident happened Saturday night at the Autoneum plant in Jeffersonville, Indiana," the statement read. "We immediately started an internal investigation and work closely together with various authorities. As a globally producing company, Autoneum complies with occupational health and safety regulations at all locations and is committed to the highest local and international standards in this area.
"We are deeply affected by this accident and our thoughts go out to the family of our colleague."
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JEFFERSONVILLE, IN (WAVE) - Jeffersonville police are investigating a death at an auto machine factory.
A woman was killed Saturday night at Autoneum North America, located on River Ridge Parkway. The company makes parts for General Motors and Ford.
The incident involved machinery, according to police, and they believe it was an accident.
The Clark County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Melissa Stephens, 44. Her autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
WAVE 3 News reached out the company, which is based in Switzerland, but have not yet received a comment.
OSHA is investigating Stephens' death.
Looking into the company's records, we found hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for safety violations.
We talked to two former Autoneum employees. One man said he quit the auto parts factory because of what he called dangerous working conditions.
Autoneum has five factories in the US. We found the company has faced numerous OSHA violations before at its other plants - 33 in the past four years alone.
We did not find not find any from the Jeffersonville plant. But, earlier this year, the company was fined nearly $600,000 after a worker lost an arm in a shredder in Ohio. OSHA also reported the shredder did not have a proper guard to avoid injury.
OSHA stated three of the violations were willful, meaning the company was aware of the problem.
Autoneum North America, Inc.
100 River Ridge Parkway
Jeffersonville, Indiana 47130 - USA
Telephone: 812-590-1950
Website: www.autoneum.com
Jeffersonville, Indiana 47130 - USA
Telephone: 812-590-1950
Website: www.autoneum.com
Under construction. Products to include automotive
sound and thermal management materials and floor carpets. Site
activities to include manufacturing and distribution.
Employees: 220
Facility size: 300,000 ft.²
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Updated: Oct 22, 2017 7:42 PM EST
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jeffersonville Police are conducting a death investigation after an employee died at a River Ridge auto parts plant. The worker was crushed to death by machinery.
Officers responded to Autoneum North America on River Ridge Parkway in Jeffersonville late Saturday night.
Police tell WDRB no foul play is suspected in the employee's death.
No other information was immediately available as the investigation is ongoing.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available