Worker crushed under 3 tons of granite slabs
BY BRIAN STANLEY bstanley@stmedianetwork.com December 30, 2010 1:08PM
A 23-year-old Chicago man was crushed to death when a load of granite countertopers fell off a forklift Thursday morning. | Michael R. Schmidt~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: December 31, 2010 3:23PM
A 23-year-old employee of a Romeoville stone warehouse was crushed to death by a 6,000-pound slab of granite on Thursday morning.
Emilio Gallardo, 23, of Chicago was killed in what the Will County Coroner’s office called a work-related mishap. He was pronounced dead at 10:22 a.m.
Fire crews responded to Primus Natural Stone on the 1200 block of Naperville Drive in Romeoville at 9:15 a.m. and found Gallardo already dead, crushed by the slab of rock, Romeoville Fire Dept. spokesman Brandon Street said.
Gallardo, an employee of Primus, was completely trapped and recovery of the body required extensive extrication, a release from the fire department said.
Crews worked for more than three hours to remove the granite, using forklifts and wood cribbing, Street said. The body was then turned over to the Will County Coroner’s office.
Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were sent to the warehouse - and remained at the scene Thursday afternoon, OSHA Assistant Area Dir. Jim Martineck said. The warehouse has no history of inspections.
Fire crews were assisted by Romeoville police and the Downers Grove Fire Department., and an employee of a nearby business helped operate equipment at the scene, the release said.
The cause and manner of death will be determined following an autopsy, toxicological and police reports, the coroner’s office said.
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