|
Industrial clothes dryer kills worker: Police believe the Cintas Uniform employee was caught onto a conveyer belt.
(Daily Oklahoman, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 7--TULSA -- A worker died Tuesday morning after getting trapped in an industrial clothes dryer that reaches temperatures of 300 degrees, a police spokesman said.
Eleazar Torres-Gomez, 46, died at Cintas Uniform, 5940 S 129 East Ave., Tulsa police officer Jason Willingham said.
Police believe the man got onto a conveyer belt that leads into the dryer about 9:30 a.m., Willingham said.
Another employee came into the room and heard banging from the dryer but thought it was a mechanical problem.
When maintenance staff members arrived, they found Torres-Gomez, Willingham said. He was stuck inside at least 20 minutes.
No foul play is suspected, Willingham said. Torres-Gomez worked at the company for 10 years.
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials investigate such accidents after police conclude their inquiry, Willingham said. Elizabeth Todd, spokeswoman for the federal agency, said officials started investigating Tuesday morning.
Under federal law, the agency has six months to finish the investigation, Todd said.
Pamela Lowe, Cintas spokeswoman, said company representatives are working with agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to determine the cause of the accident.
J. Bradley McNeese, Cintas vice president, said in a statement, "Our hearts and prayers go out to the friends and family of our Cintas employee-partner, Eleazar Torres-Gomez."
Copyright (c) 2007, The Daily Oklahoman
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|