Worker crushed, killed by concrete mixer in southeast Minnesota
A 63-year-old worker was killed when a concrete mixer drum fell and crushed him Monday at a manufacturing company in southeast Minnesota.
The worker was identified Tuesday as Teofilo Gonzalez, a 10-year employee of Con-Tech Manufacturing in Dodge Center, according to a Tuesday news release from Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose.
A 911 call came in around 10 a.m. Monday alerting that an employee had been crushed at the plant. Deputies responded and found staff doing CPR on Gonzalez, Rose said. Co-workers said Gonzalez was cutting a crossbeam support on a dolly that was supporting a 5,000-pound mixer drum when the dolly failed and the mixer fell on him.
Employees used two forklifts to remove the drum from Gonzalez before starting CPR, Rose said. An ambulance crew arrived and took over but were unable to save Gonzalez. He was pronounced dead just before 10:30 a.m., the sheriff said.
Sheriff's Office chaplains were called in to assist with notifying Gonzalez's family and supporting co-workers and first responders on scene. Mayo Clinic was unable to fly a helicopter to the scene because of poor weather conditions, the sheriff said. Con-Tech advised it would contact the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding the fatal incident.
