Latest news with #MIOSHA
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
23-Year-Old Dad Dies After Being Hit by Construction Equipment. His Grandfather, the Foreman, Was There to Hold Him
A 23-year-old father is dead after he was critically injured at a construction site in Michigan on Monday, June 30 He was the sole provider for his young family, and leaves behind a six-year-old son "I never thought I would say goodbye to you," the young man's fiancée wrote in a Facebook post after his deathA 23-year-old father is dead after he was hit by an excavator bucket at a construction site in Michigan, according to officials and reports. Ryan Starnes, who was later identified by family members, was between a concrete structure and the bucket of a large excavator when the incident occurred in Brighton on Monday, June 30, according to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA). 'The bucket was resting on the ground,' the agency said in a list of 2025 fatality information. 'The operator of the excavator didn't see the employee and moved the bucket and struck the victim.' The incident happened at around 3 p.m. while Starnes was working in a dug-out hole at the location of a new section of Grand River Ave near Interstate 96, a $45 million Michigan Department of Transportation Project (MDOT), according to a news release from the Michigan State Police. When troopers arrived on the scene, police officers were already giving Starnes medical attention, the Michigan State Police stated. He had sustained critical injuries and later died at the hospital. Starnes' family, MIOSH, MDOT and the Livingston County Medical Examiner's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment. The young man's uncle and grandfather were also working at the site. Starnes' grandfather was the foreman, ABC affiliate WXYZ reported. 'His grandpa was the one that held him when it happened,' Ky-El McRae, Starnes' fiancée, told the outlet. Starnes was the sole provider of their family, and worked hard to make sure their 6-year-old son, Luke, who has autism and is nonverbal, had everything he needed, according to a GoFundMe page created to support Luke and cover funeral costs. 'He has been working as an underground utility worker for the past 5 years,' wrote the organizer, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. 'This was hard, exhausting work and Ryan never complained as he would do anything to take care of his family.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In a Facebook post that written the night of the incident, McRae mourned the loss of her partner. 'I never thought I would say goodbye to you,' McRae wrote. 'I just saw your sleeping face last night. Just listened to you snore. Just told you I loved you. I don't want to say goodbye.' She said that Starnes was making strides so he could ensure a good future for his son. 'Everything was starting to fall into place. How on earth am I supposed to do this without you,' she continued. 'How am I supposed to watch Luke grow up and achieve so much without you here to celebrate these milestones with me… Me and Luke love you so much.' Read the original article on People
Miami Herald
24-06-2025
- Miami Herald
17-year-old cutting tree strikes neck with chainsaw and dies, MI officials say
A 17-year-old worker was tasked with cutting down a fallen tree when a chainsaw incident killed them, according to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The teen was found by a homeowner with a laceration on their neck with the chainsaw next to them on June 22, according to MIOSHA. The teen was not identified and no further information was given about the incident in Muskegon. This is the 14th MIOSHA-related death in 2025, according to records. In 2024, 34 people were killed. Muskegon is about a 200-mile drive northwest from Detroit.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Teen cutting up tree is latest on-the-job fatality in Michigan. What we know
A 17-year-old on June 22 became the 14th person to die on the job in Michigan this year, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on June 24. MIOSHA said the fatality was the third in one week in Michigan and the third in June. The teen was hired to cut up a fallen tree at a "residential location" in Muskegon, MIOSHA said in a release. The homeowner later found found the victim next to their chainsaw "with a laceration to their neck," the release said. No other information was released. In 2024, Michigan saw 12 worker deaths in the first six months of the year — one in June — while 17 workers died through June 2023. There were 36 MIOSHA-related deaths in 2023 and 31 overall in 2024. 2009 saw the lowest number with 24. "Employers and employees are urged to use extreme care and safety diligence in all work activities," MIOSHA said in an email. "Every life is precious. Our mutual goal must be that every employee goes home at the end of every shift." What to know about worker safety in Michigan. According to MIOSHA, in addition to the latest fatality, the following deaths have occurred in 2025: Jan. 3, Almont: A 43-year-old cement finisher died of "inhalation" after using propane-powered equipment in an enclosed barn without ventilation. A second worker was hospitalized in critical condition. Jan. 16, Ravenna: A 42-year-old laborer died when they were struck by the tongue of a trailer. Feb. 10, Traverse City: A 29-year-old roofer fell 20 feet to the ground. Feb. 12, Carsonville: A 34-year-old pipefitter died when a trench in which they were working caved in. March 9, Sterling Heights: A 32-year-old roofer fell about 20 feet to the ground. April 7, Dundee: A 63-year-old machine repairman was struck and pinned by a motorized arm near a conveyor line. April 15, Ann Arbor: A 64-year-old truck driver was struck by a semi-trailer while attempting to hook it to the truck. April 30, Jackson: A 46-year-old student support specialist was found unresponsive with a metal file cabinet on top of them. Emergency services were called. The employee was pronounced on scene. The autopsy indicated the cause of death to be traumatic (compression) chest asphyxia from the file cabinet. May 14, White Cloud: A 38-year-old arborist was killed when an oak tree fell. May 24, Comstock Park: A 71-year-old machine operator fell and was struck in the head while cutting bands from metal tubing. May 28, Oakland Township: A 32-year-old laborer was operating a riding lawnmower was pinned when it overturned. June 16, Potterville: A 27-year-old construction worker who was killed at Potterville High School when steel trusses fell on them and another worker. June 19, Ann Arbor: A 48-year-old truck driver was killed when their vehicle overturned and pinned the man in the cab as they were backing up for stone delivery. The number of workers killed on the job by year: 2024: 31 2023: 36 2022: 45 2021: 54 2020: 75 2019: 39 2018: 38 2017: 39 2016: 43 2015: 29 2014: 37 2013: 28 2012: 27 In fiscal year 2024, federal OSHA investigated 826 worker deaths, an 11% reduction from 928 in the previous year, the agency said. Excluding COVID-related deaths, fiscal 2024 was the lowest number of worker fatalities OSHA has been mandated to investigate since 2017. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan workplace death toll for 2025. Latest on-the-job fatality in Muskegon
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate panel OKs $15M to fix Michigan prison railings after 5 fatal falls
LANSING — A Senate panel on April 24 recommended spending $15 million to improve the safety of railings at Michigan prisons, following a series of Free Press articles about five fatal plunges at two Jackson-area prisons. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections and Judiciary, chaired by state Sen. Sue Shink, D-Northfield Township, included the plan in a nearly $2.3 billion proposed budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections, approved in a 3-1 party-line vote. The plan now moves to the full Senate Appropriations Committee as the next step in the protracted budget-setting process for the 2026 fiscal year. The proposed expenditure was initially listed as $31 million in a Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the budget bill, but that was an error and the correct figure is $15 million, agency director Kathryn Summers said. In the latest in a series of articles, the Free Press reported April 16 that 42-year-old Ervin Robinson II died April 12 after falling from an upper gallery at the Charles Egeler Reception & Guidance Center near Jackson. The Department of Corrections described Robinson's fall as accidental, but the Free Press has documented four other fatal falls from the fourth levels at Egeler and nearby Parnall Correctional Facility since 2020. The department listed all four of those deaths as suicides. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, a Democratic activist, former state lawmaker, and current Detroit school board member, said she lobbied lawmakers and community justice groups to take action after reading the most recent Free Press article and said April 25 she is pleased by the legislative action. "It's heartening to see that Sen. Shink has prioritized righting this terrible atrocity that has persisted for far too long," Gay-Dagnogo said. "This is the type of decisive action needed to ensure that no one else loses their loved ones due to years of state neglect." Egeler and Parnall each have a similar tiered structure with four levels of cells that are accessed by walkways protected by railings that are 38 inches high, which is lower than Michigan workplace safety standards, according to state records obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. In August 2023, a prison employee complained to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office that gallery railings at the two prisons were too low, putting workers at risk of falling or being pushed to their deaths, records the Free Press obtained under FOIA show. Whitmer's office referred the complaint, which also cited concerns about prisoner safety, to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But nothing changed. "No hazard exists," a Michigan Department of Corrections official said in a Sept. 20, 2023, letter to a manager at MIOSHA. The agency closed its investigation less than three weeks later, without physically inspecting the two prisons, despite concerns raised by one MIOSHA official that improvements were needed, records show. Since then, three men have died by jumping or falling over or under the railings. Michael Snyder, the father of 37-year-old Wesley Snyder, who died in what was ruled a suicide after jumping from the fourth level at Parnall in December, told the Free Press the state has been negligent. "If they have one death — let alone four or five, it just doesn't make sense they wouldn't have done something," Snyder said in December. Shink said details are still being finalized but she wants to make prison as safe as possible for both prisoners and employees and she feels that addressing the railing safety issue is a priority. Byron Osborn, president of the Michigan Corrections Organization union representing corrections officers, said ahead of the subcommittee vote that many officers feel at risk walking on the narrow gangplanks outside prisoner cells, protected only by a low railing from a steep fall to concrete below. One time, a prisoner dropped a heavy duffel bag full of his property from an upper gallery and it thudded to the ground just a few feet from where an officer was standing, Osborn said. There's always a risk of an officer falling or being pushed over the railing while breaking up a fight, he said. The risk exists not only at Egeler and Parnall, which each have four gallery levels, but at Marquette Branch Prison, which has three, Osborn said. "We would certainly support having some kind of additional barrier," Osborn said. "There's some danger there." MDOC Director Heidi Washington, through her spokeswoman Jenni Riehle, has repeatedly refused to comment on what, if anything, the department plans to do to address the hazard. Riehle confirmed April 18 that there was another incident at Egeler this month in which a prisoner suffered a broken leg after falling from the first-floor gallery, following an altercation with two other prisoners. As long ago as 2012, a Michigan prisoner was charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to push two corrections officers over an upper railing, Michigan Court of Appeals records show. The prisoner was acquitted on those charges but convicted on lesser assault charges, records show. Gay-Dagnogo said she still wants a state investigation into how the situation has been able to persist as long as it has. This story and headlines have been updated to add more information and to reflect a correction to a Senate Fiscal Agency analysis. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: After 5 fatal falls, Senate panel wants $15M fix for prison railings
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate panel OKs $31M to fix Michigan prison railings after 5 fatal falls
LANSING — A Senate panel on April 24 recommended spending $31 million to improve the safety of railings at Michigan prisons, following a series of Free Press articles about five fatal plunges at two Jackson-area prisons. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections and Judiciary, chaired by Sen. Sue Shink, D-Northfield Township, included the plan in a nearly $2.3 billion proposed budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections, approved in a 3-1 party line vote. The plan now moves to the full Senate Appropriations Committee as the next step in the protracted budget-setting process for the 2026 fiscal year. In the latest in a series of articles, the Free Press reported April 16 that 42-year-old Ervin Robinson II died April 12 after falling from an upper gallery at the Charles Egeler Reception & Guidance Center near Jackson. The Department of Corrections described Robinson's fall as accidental, but the Free Press has documented four other fatal falls from the fourth levels at Egeler and nearby Parnall Correctional Facility since 2020. The department listed all four of those deaths as suicides. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, a Democratic activist, former state lawmaker, and current Detroit school board member, said she lobbied lawmakers and community justice groups to take action after reading the most recent Free Press article and said April 25 she is pleased by the legislative action. "It's heartening to see that Sen. Shink has prioritized righting this terrible atrocity that has persisted for far too long," Gay-Dagnogo said. "This is the type of decisive action needed to ensure that no one else loses their loved ones due to years of state neglect." Egeler and Parnall each have a similar tiered structure with four levels of cells that are accessed by walkways protected by railings that are 38 inches high, which is lower than Michigan workplace safety standards, according to state records obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. In August 2023, a prison employee complained to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office that gallery railings at the two prisons were too low, putting workers at risk of falling or being pushed to their deaths, records the Free Press obtained under FOIA show. Whitmer's office referred the complaint, which also cited concerns about prisoner safety, to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But nothing changed. "No hazard exists," a Michigan Department of Corrections official said in a Sept. 20, 2023, letter to a manager at MIOSHA. The agency closed its investigation less than three weeks later, without physically inspecting the two prisons, despite concerns raised by one MIOSHA official that improvements were needed, records show. Since then, three men have died by jumping or falling over or under the railings. Michael Snyder, the father of 37-year-old Wesley Snyder, who died in what was ruled a suicide after jumping from the fourth level at Parnall in December, told the Free Press the state has been negligent. "If they have one death — let alone four or five, it just doesn't make sense they wouldn't have done something," Snyder said in December. Byron Osborn, president of the Michigan Corrections Organization union representing corrections officers, said ahead of the subcommittee vote that many officers feel at risk walking on the narrow gangplanks outside prisoner cells, protected only by a low railing from a steep fall to concrete below. One time, a prisoner dropped a heavy duffel bag full of his property from an upper gallery and it thudded to the ground just a few feet from where an officer was standing, Osborn said. There's always a risk of an officer falling or being pushed over the railing while breaking up a fight, he said. The risk exists not only at Egeler and Parnall, which each have four gallery levels, but at Marquette Branch Prison, which has three, Osborn said. "We would certainly support having some kind of additional barrier," Osborn said. "There's some danger there." MDOC Director Heidi Washington, through her spokeswoman Jenni Riehle, has repeatedly refused to comment on what, if anything, the department plans to do to address the hazard. Riehle confirmed April 18 that there was another incident at Egeler this month in which a prisoner suffered a broken leg after falling from the first-floor gallery, following an altercation with two other prisoners. As long ago as 2012, a Michigan prisoner was charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to push two corrections officers over an upper railing, Michigan Court of Appeals records show. The prisoner was acquitted on those charges but convicted on lesser assault charges, records show. Gay-Dagnogo said she still wants a state investigation into how the situation has been able to persist as long as it has. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: After 5 fatal falls, Senate panel wants $31M fix for prison railings
