Officials identify man killed while working at Evansville plant

EVANSVILLE – Officials have identified a man who died at a West Side plant in Evansville on Monday.

Christopher L. Payton, 59, of Vanderburgh County, was killed "while working on a machine" at Silgan Closures America at 2201 W. Maryland St., Coroner Steve Lockyear said in a news release.

According to an Evansville police report, officers responded to the scene just after 1:20 p.m. No further details about Payton's death have been released.

Indiana Department of Labor spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland said the state's branch of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has "opened a safety compliance inspection" in the aftermath of Payton's death. The inspection could take as long as six months, she said.

IOSHA didn't list any finalized safety orders for Evansville's Silgan plant on its website dating back to 2013. There was, however, a safety order for a Silgan Plastics plant in Ligonier, Indiana, from July 2013, when the company was fined for blocked and poorly lit passage ways through the workplace.

Silgan is an international company that calls itself "the largest provider of food packaging products in North America." On its website, it lists "containers," "closures ," "plastics" and "packaging" wings.

Late Tuesday morning, a spokesman for Silgan issued the following statement:

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Christopher Payton, who was a long-time employee and a valued member of the team at our Evansville, Indiana facility. We are fully cooperating with OSHA and the related state agencies in their investigation and are providing counseling services to all employees. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris’ family and friends, as well as our entire plant team and the Silgan community at this difficult time."

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Officials identify man killed while working at Evansville plant