Cal-OSHA is investigating a fatality in which an employee was working by himself using a cherry picker. The worker was killed when his body was crushed between a building and the boom’s basket.
Firefighters, the first responders, say Zeke Odom, 40, an employee of Century Lighting & Electric, was working on lights near an overhang of a not-yet-opened Staples store in Sacramento, CA.
Odom raised his boom and basket, trying to position himself at the front of the store.
His upper body was crushed when he was pinched between the overhang and a bar in the basket.
When a co-worker arrived, he found Odom and called 911.
Fire officials say Odom’s hands were on the controls in the basket and he was facing away from the building. It was a grisly scene, with his head nearly decapitated.
Investigators are likely to look into the business’s policy on employees operating equipment while alone and whether there was mechanical failure and/or operator error. They’ll also look into whether Odom suffered a medical problem before he was crushed.
