Contractor Killed In Accident At Manufacturing Plant In Blaine County

A contractor was killed after the bed of his truck crushed him at a manufacturing plant in Blaine County, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The contractor was at the USG plant in Southard to clean out a pile of scrap metal, said Undersheriff Eric Denning. The contractor had a truck with a flatbed that could rise. But the hydraulic pump to raise the bed was broken.

The man tried to fix the issue by using a telescopic forklift to push down the back of the bed so the front of the bed could lift up, allowing him access to the broken hydraulic pump, said Denning. But the truck shifted forward from the telescopic forklift and the bed fell onto the contractor, killing him, Denning said.

The incident happened sometime between 2 p.m. Tuesday, when he was last seen alive, and 10 a.m. Wednesday, when his body was discovered, said Denning.

The contractor was from Lahoma in Garfield County, said Denning. His name will not be released because it's not a criminal investigation.