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Worker Dismantling Pennsylvania Printing Press Dies After Becoming Trapped Under Machinery

The Morning Call Publisher and editor Robert York expressed "heartfelt sympathy" to the contractor's family

A contractor became trapped underneath a piece of machinery that was being removed from the pressroom of a Pennsylvania newspaper, suffering fatal injuries.

The Lehigh County coroner says the man became trapped at The Morning Call in Allentown on Tuesday afternoon. Crews have been dismantling the printing press after the paper's printing operations moved to Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Lehigh County coroner says Ruben Ocasio-Fernandez, of Cape Coral, became trapped. The 32-year-old died of multiple blunt-force trauma and the death has been ruled an accident.

The Morning Call reports that newsroom workers heard a loud boom shortly before Ocasio-Fernandez was found. He was working for Britton Services Inc., a Belvidere, Ill.-based machinery installation contractor.

Publisher and editor Robert York expressed "heartfelt sympathy" to the man's family and says the company is cooperating with authorities.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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