Drunk driver Edward Torres, 30, of South Solon, Ohio is facing aggravated vehicular homicide after he hit two road workers in the construction zone on I-70 eastbound in Columbus, OH, killing Steve Cook, 59, of Barnesville, Ohio.

Updated: 10/02/17 07:41 am EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Interstate 70 was shut down for several hours on the west side Saturday morning because a construction worker was struck.

It happened around 1:35 a.m. The interstate was closed between Route 142 in Madison County and Interstate 270. It reopened at 9 am.

Edward Torres, 30 of South Charleston, Ohio was driving a 2009 Honda Odyssey eastbound on I-70 when he drove through construction barrels that barricaded three right-hand lanes that were closed.

Torres continued on the closed section of the roadway where he struck Steve Cook, 59 of Barnesville, Ohio. Cook was taken to Grant Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Columbus Police have determined Torres was driving under the influence of alcohol and have arrested him.

ODOT said Cook was a contractor who worked for a local paving company. Cook was scheduled overnight to pave several of the Interstate 70 eastbound lanes.

ODOT confirmed another construction worker suffered minor injuries.

Officers said the Torres did stay at the scene.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — A driver is facing aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges after two construction workers were hit overnight Saturday on I-70 eastbound in Columbus.

Columbus Police say Edward Torres, 30, of South Solon, Ohio was driving eastbound around 1:30AM when he hit the workers in the construction zone at Hilliard-Rome Road. Police say Torres drove through a construction barrels barricade onto three closed lanes. That's where Steven Cook, 59, and a second worker were hit.

Both were rushed to Grant Medical Center. Cook died from his injuries, authorities say the second victim was treated for minor injuries.


Torres was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, according to police. He was arrested at the scene, and is scheduled to appear in court Monday, October 2nd.


ODOT Columbus confirms to ABC6/FOX28 that the victim was not an ODOT worker. 



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COLUMBUS, OH (WCMH) — One person has died after a vehicle struck two construction workers on Interstate 70 east on the west side of Columbus.

It happened around 1:35am in the construction zone on I-70 east at Hilliard-Rome Road. According to Columbus Police, Edward Torres, 30, of South Charleston, Ohio was driving a Honda Odessy east on I-70 when he drove through the barrel barricade that closed off the three right-hand lanes of I-70 to traffic. Torres continued driving on the closed section of the roadway and struck two construction workers, one of whom died from his injuries.

Police identified the deceased victim as Steve Cook, 59, of Barnesville, Ohio.

Cook was transported to Grant Medical Center in Columbus where he was pronounced dead around 2:18am. According to police, Torres was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. He has been taken into custody. According to court records, Torres has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.

The second construction worker has not been identified, but police say he suffered minor injuries and is expected to recover.

BWAY Corporation, a Chicago manufacturer of rigid metal, plastic, and hybrid containers, faces $503,380 in proposed penalties after OSHA responded to four separate reports of workers suffering injuries at the facility

Chicago Container Manufacturer Faces $503K in OSHA Penalties
September 26, 2017


A Chicago manufacturer of rigid metal, plastic, and hybrid containers faces $503,380 in proposed penalties after inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) responded to four separate reports of workers suffering injuries at the facility, the federal agency announced.

As a result of its investigations, OSHA cited BWAY Corporation for five repeated and five serious safety violations of machine safety procedures, and placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. In the past five years, 15 workers suffered amputations at the Chicago plant.



OSHA found one employee suffered two broken bones in his hand after it was crushed by a piece of equipment. Three other employees suffered amputations from unguarded chain and sprocket assemblies.

The agency issued repeated citations for failing to train workers in lockout/tagout procedures that prevent unintentional machine movement, and inadequate machine guarding on a mechanical power press, belts and pulleys, and chains and sprockets. The five serious citations involve failing to lockout equipment prior to clearing jams and inadequate machine guarding on multiple pieces of equipment.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the company has 27 facilities and about 4,000 employees in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico – with about 500 employees in Chicago.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

About BWAY

For more than a century, BWAY has offered packaging solutions for large manufacturers, container distributors and small businesses. Today, we are a market leader in the general line packaging industry by providing rigid metal and plastic containers across North America.

Our rigid metal containers include paint cans, steel pails, aerosol cans, F-style containers, monotop cans, pour top cans, ammunition boxes and an oil can. We also manufacture rigid plastic packaging including pails, drums, and hybrid paint cans.

Approximately 75 percent of our business comprises general line packaging used by industrial manufacturers. Roughly 20 percent of our containers are allocated to food products. The remaining five percent accounts for production of ammunition boxes.

BWAY has annual sales exceeding $1 billion. We have approximately 3,000 dedicated, well-trained employees who deliver exceptional products to customers. Our organization maintains modern, well-capitalized manufacturing facilities that are geographically aligned to ensure fast order fulfillment and superior customer service.

Fall protection again topped the list of OSHA's Most-Cited Standards for 2017; inadequate or unprovided training is involved in many or most of the violations cited by OSHA

OSHA Unveils FY2017 Top Ten Most-Cited Standards

Fall protection again topped the list, which was revealed Sept. 26 at the NSC conference before a standing-room-only crowd. 

Sep 26, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- 

OSHA's Patrick Kapust revealed the Top Ten list of most-cited OSHA standards for fiscal year 2017 on Sept. 26 during a standing-room-only Learning Lab session at the National Safety Congress & Expo here in the Indiana Convention Center. Not only were attendees standing all along the walls of the meeting room in the expo hall for this presentation, but many others were lined up outside to watch and photograph Kapust's slides as he talked.

Kapust, CSP, is deputy director of OSHA's Directorate of Enforcement Programs and has worked for OSHA since 1991.


"This list doesn't change much year to year. The order may change," he said. "I encourage folks to use this list and look at your own workplaces" to make sure the hazards addressed in the Top Ten list of standards are addressed," he added.

The FY2017 Top Ten:

1. Fall Protection, 1926.501, 6,072 violations

2. Hazard Communication, 1910.1200, 4,176 violations

3. Scaffolding, 1926.451, 3,288 violations

4. Respiratory Protection, 1910.134, 3,097 violations

5. Lockout/Tagout, 1910.147, 2,877 violations

6. Ladders, 1926.1053, 2,241 violations

7. Powered Industrial Trucks, 1910.178, 2,162 violations

8. Machine Guarding, 1910.212, 1,933 violations

9. Fall Protection -- Training Requirements, 1926.503, 1,523 violations

10. Electrical Wiring Methods, 1910.305, 1,405 violations

Four of the Top Ten involve fall exposures, and Kapust explained that inadequate or unprovided training is involved in many or most of the violations cited by OSHA in four of the standards on the list.

With respiratory protection, medical evaluations often are not done and fit testing also is often undone, he said, adding, "These are readily fixable, easy to take care of."

SUFFOCATED TO DEATH: OSHA is investigating the weekend death of Melvin Gant Jr., 28, of South Carolina at the Nucor Steel plant in Decatur aftre hi slipped into vat containing the waste product of finished rolled steel

Melvin Gant Jr., 28, of South Carolina.  RIP

OSHA investigating fatal Nucor accident

By Anna Beahm Staff Writer
September 27, 2017



The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the weekend death of a man at the Nucor Steel plant in Decatur, authorities said.


Decatur police said Saturday that Melvin Gant Jr., 28, of South Carolina, slipped into what Decatur police called a “vat containing the waste product of finished rolled steel” while doing his normal duties. His death was ruled accidental by Decatur police.


This waste product is better defined as furnace dust, said Morgan County Coroner Jeff Chunn.


“It’s basically the burnoff product from the electrode from the furnaces. It’s a very fine dust,” Chunn said.


OSHA spokesman Michael D’Aquino said the accident happened in the bag house on the east side of the plant.


There, the air and dust coming off the furnaces is collected and funneled into a large hopper, Chunn said. It is later packaged and removed from the plant.


Gant fell into one of the large hoppers while he was working in the bag house, Chunn said.


Chunn said Gant’s death was caused by suffocation from the fine dust. No life-saving techniques could be administered, police said.


Gant had been working for Nucor in Decatur off and on for several years, but did not have a Decatur-area residence listed, Chunn said.


Gant was a contractor for Nucor with Atlantic Recovery, said Mike Lee, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel in Decatur.


"On behalf of all our Nucor Steel Decatur teammates, I want to express my sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Gant. We are deeply saddened by this event," Lee said.


Gant’s death is the second serious injury or fatality reported to OSHA since the plant opened, OSHA reports show. The only other injury filed with OSHA was reported in December 2010, according to an OSHA database.


D’Aquino said in an email he did not know how long the investigation would take.


“We have to wait for the investigation to be completed before we know what the findings are, if any,” he said.


Operations at the plant were suspended Saturday but returned to normal Sunday afternoon.

FEMALE WORKER INJURED: OSHA investigating an industrial accident that happened Monday at Del Monte Foods Inc. in Plover, WI

PLOVER, WIS. (WSAW) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating an industrial accident that happened Monday at Del Monte Foods Inc. in Plover.


First responders were called to the facility after getting a report of an accident with an entrapped female patient, according to Stevens Point Assistant Fire Chief Joe Gemza. The woman was transported to Aspirus hospital in Wausau because it is a level 2 trauma hospital, said Gemza. There is no update on the patient's condition.

When reached for comment, Del Monte Foods Operations Manager Mark Zblewski told NewsChannel 7 it is company policy not to release information about workplace accidents to the public.

Del Monte Foods Inc. informed OSHA of the accident and is cooperating with the investigation, according to Scott Allen, OSHA Regional Director of Public Affairs. No details will be available until after the investigation is complete, said Allen.