Worker Killed by Excavator Bucket in Michigan
By: Charles E. Ramirez
Source: The Detroit News (TNS)
Video: WXYZ-TV Detroit
A worker died Monday at a Livingston County road construction site after being struck by an excavator, Michigan State Police said.
Officials said the victim was a 23-year-old St. Clair Shores man.
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State police troopers with the Brighton Post were called at about 3:15 p.m. to a road construction site in the area of Grand River near Interstate 96 in Brighton Township for a report of an injured worker, authorities said.
A caller told dispatchers that a member of a road construction crew had been struck by heavy equipment while on the job, MSP said.
Troopers arrived at the location and found Brighton police officers rendering aid to the victim, according to officials. Medics took the wounded man to an Ann Arbor hospital, where he died from his injuries, state police said.
According to a preliminary investigation, the victim was working in an excavated hole in the road when the machinery’s bucket struck him, police said.
“It appears the worker operating the excavator was not aware the victim was in the hole,” officials said in a statement. “This incident appears to be a workplace accident; however, the investigation is ongoing.”
Michael Krafcik, a spokesman for the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Tuesday the agency has also launched an investigation into the worker’s death.
“MIOSHA cannot provide information on an open investigation,” he said in a statement. “Typically, this type of investigation may take several weeks or months to complete.”
The incident is among the most recent workplace fatalities in the state.
Last week, a 17-year-old laborer in western Michigan was killed in an accident involving a chainsaw.
Last month, two construction workers were left in critical condition after they were electrocuted at a site.
So far this year, the state has recorded 14 workplace fatalities, MIOSHA data said.
That compares with a total of 34 workplace deaths in 2024. The agency said 2009 had the lowest number of workplace deaths, 24.
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