A worker was crushed to death by a paper roll this morning at the processing plant for Philadelphia newspapers in Montgomery County, Pa.
The accident happened around 9:30 a.m.
"It was an unfortunate, freak accident," Upper Merion Police Lt. Thomas Nolan told NBC10's Monique Braxton.
Around noon, contractors were brought in to try and lift the roll of newsprint off of the victim. That paper roll weighed 1,500 pounds.
The building where this happened is the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News Schuylkill Printing Plant at 800 Schuylkill River Road in Upper Merion Township. The victim, Jefferson L. Troester, was 43 years old and from Claymont, Delaware. He worked for Arcella Mittal Steel Inc., according to the release sent out by police on Friday afternoon.
The victim was about to help offload the rolls. When he opened the door to the boxcar, "two of the rolls of paper fell out, pinning that worker between the train and the loading dock area," Lt. Nolan said. Police say the paper rolls shifted during transport.
We've talked to Jean Kult, regional supervisor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] in Allentown, Pa. She tells us a compliance officer who is a safety specialist is at the job site to investigate. OSHA has up to six months to complete an investigation.
The Troester family released the following statement in response to Jefferson's death:
Jeff Troester was a kind husband, wonderful friend, great mentor, and a phenomenal man. Those who knew him at home, at work, and in the community will miss his understated warmth, his love of all things mechanical and analytical, and his ability to touch the lives of those he came in contact with.
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