ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Alexander City police are investigating the death of a carnival worker after he died falling from a ride he was trying to fix.
The call came into police around 5:15 Wednesday evening. Police say the worker was a vendor of the “ring of fire” ride. He climbed up on the ride to correct an issue he observed.
The worker was advised to come down by the ride operator. That’s when the worker fell approximately 30 feet. The worker was transported to Russell Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The incident is still under investigation, and authorities will not release the name of the victim until family is notified.
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TRAGEDY AT THE FAIR: Worker dies in fall at fair Wednesday
By Mitch Sneed
Published 6:38 pm Wednesday, April 25, 2018
An amusement company employee died Wednesday after falling off the Ring of Fire at the Kiwanis Fair at the Charles E. Bailey Sportplex, according to Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox.
The name of the male victim had not been released as of 7 p.m. The accident occurred just before 5 p.m., just as the fair was preparing to open for the evening.
“A male ride operator from Belarus was operating a ride nearby and the operator of the Ring of Fire said that he thought he saw a wheel that looked funny,” Knox said. “This man said he would check it and climbed up, even though he wasn’t the one who usually did that. When the man who normally handles the maintenance came – he said for him to get down and he would check. When he started down, he lost his grip and fell to the ground.”
Scanner reports said that the victim was bleeding heavily as a result of the fall, but the investigation remained active and while Knox didn’t speculate on the cause of death, he said the man obviously suffered head trauma.
Knox said the 45-year old man, who had been in the business for “20 years or more,” was pronounced dead at the Russell Medical.
Because of the distance between the man and his family, a name was not released until notification of his next of kin could be made.
There were already people on the grounds and the accident was witnessed by several people. Witnesses said that screams could be heard and children were crying and being comforted by their parents.
The ride remained shut down, but the rest of the attractions were open Wednesday evening and the midway was crowded with fairgoers.
More details will be released as they become available.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Monroe County Coroner released the identity Thursday of a construction worker who was killed in an accident on Indiana University's Bloomington campus.
Indiana University officials say a crew was working on a renovation project at Swain Hall on Wednesday when a construction worker was killed. No other injuries were reported as part of the accident.
The man was part of a private contracting company hired by the university to do renovation work on the building.
He has been identified as William M. Brown Jr., 35, of Bloomington. The coroner says Brown died of blunt force trauma to the chest.
She says Brown was part of a crew that was moving a very large piece of limestone that was to be used as a header above an entryway when the accident occurred.
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Construction Worker Dies On IU Campus
Updated April 26, 2018 7:19 AM
(BLOOMINGTON, IN) - A construction worker was killed after a large piece of limestone being installed above a doorway fell and killed him while working at Swain Hall West on Indiana University's campus on Wednesday afternoon.
Monroe County Coroner Joani Shields says 35-year-old William M. Brown Jr. of Bloomington was working with other crew members using equipment to lift a 6 foot long piece of limestone above an interior doorway on the north side of the building when it fell striking Brown in the head and chest.
Fellow construction workers began CPR and dialed 911 at 2:52 p.m.
An autopsy is been this morning in Terre Haute.
Finch Constructors and Pepper Construction has been working on the $36 million renovation, which includes building a new entryway, upgrading heating, cooling and other mechanical systems and cleaning and tuckpointing the exterior limestone walls.
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Authorities say a construction worker died when a large chunk of limestone fell onto his head and chest at Indiana University's Bloomington campus.
Monroe County coroner Joani Shields says 35-year-old William M. Brown Jr., of Bloomington, was killed Wednesday afternoon at Swain Hall West. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.
Brown was an employee for a contractor hired by the university for a $36 million renovation of the building. He was helping to install a limestone header above an interior second-floor doorway when the block fell as it was being lofted it into place.
Sgt. Brandon Hudson of the Bloomington Fire Department tells The Herald-Times that the stone was about 6 feet (1.8 meters) long and that it struck Brown in the head and chest.
Indiana University sent the following statement regarding the incident:
“An workplace accident this afternoon has resulted in the death of a worker for the contractor on the renovation of Swain Hall, located on 3rd street. The accident killed an adult male in an isolated part of Swain Hall at around 2:50 p.m. There were no other injuries.
"We offer our sympathy to the victim’s family, friends, and co-workers on the project.”
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No work on Swain Hall project Thursday after man's death
By Michael Reschke 812-331-4370 | mreschke@heraldt.com
April 27, 2018
Swain Hall West was the site of a fatal construction accident Wednesday on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington. Jeremy Hogan | Herald-Times
Work on a $36 million renovation project at Indiana University was canceled for Thursday following the death of a Bloomington man at the construction site Wednesday afternoon.
The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an investigation into the fatal incident, said Chuck Carney, IU spokesman. He did not know Thursday when work on Swain Hall, located 727 E. Third St., would resume.
William M. Brown Jr., 35, was hit in the head and chest with a piece of limestone estimated to be about 6 feet long.
A preliminary autopsy conducted Thursday identified blunt force trauma to the chest as the cause of death. Results of a toxicology report are expected in about three weeks, said Joani Shields, Monroe County coroner.
A crew working on the building's second floor called 911 at 2:52 p.m. Wednesday. Workers had been using equipment to lift and place a piece of limestone above an interior doorway when the rock fell, preliminary reports said.
Carney said Brown was not an IU employee, but he was unsure about what company employed Brown. IU contracted with Pepper Construction for the project, but Brown may have worked for a subcontractor.
Work on the campus project included upgrades to mechanical systems, such as heating, ventilation and cooling. The most visible change involved tearing down a windowless concrete tower and creating a new entryway that matches the surrounding architecture.
Swain Hall has been expanded multiple times since it was first built in 1910. The original building is now referred to as Swain Hall East. Swain Hall West was built in 1938.A southern addition, which included the windowless tower, was built in 1972. The tower was supposed to one day become part of a walkway over Third Street. At the time, university leaders thought the campus would expand south, but that never happened.
The heights of floors in Swain Hall East and West did not match. Renovation plans called for an elevator to be built at the back of an atrium attached to the new entryway. The elevator, with doors on two sides, would provide access to all floors within the building.
The project was broken up into three phases, with work starting on the southwestern portion of the building shortly after people started moving out of that area in August 2016. Parts of the building were still in use during the renovation project. Earlier this month, university officials expected the project to be substantially completed in May.
No classes in Swain Hall have been canceled because of the incident, Carney said.
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Swain West
Campus:
IU Bloomington
Completion Date
August 1, 2014
Project Type:
Renovation
Primary Use:
Academic
Architect:
arcDESIGN
Team Leader:
Payne
Project Budget
Internal funding: $1200000
Total budget: $1200000
Project Description
Indiana University proposes to proceed with the renovation of approximately 3,102 gross square feet (gsf) of lecture space and associated entries within Rooms 119 and 120 of Swain Hall West on the IU Bloomington campus.
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The Swain Hall East and West complex renovation offers a new environment for students and faculty while remaining true to the historic Bloomington campus.
The facility houses physics and autonomy departments and will provide a distinguishable main entrance to the building while connecting the building to the campus and the University’s iconic 20-acre Dunns Woods. Due to multiple past additions, students, faculty and visitors have not been utilizing the building as much as the University would like. The most recent 1972 addition left the building without an identifiable “front door” and greatly obscures and diminishes the surrounding historic buildings on site.
BSA LifeStructures’ renovation plan entails multiple phases allowing the facility to remain in operation while under construction. The proposed solution will trim the structure so that historic buildings are revealed. An easily identifiable main entrance will also be added; leading guests into internal commons and building center. The exterior walls, windows and roof will also undergo restoration or replacement all while retaining the existing historical character of the building.
