1 Dead In An Industrial Accident In SE OKC

One person is dead after an industrial incident in southeast Oklahoma City. It happened at Quad Graphics near SE 59th and Sunnylane Road.

The incident is the second time in less than a week where rescuers were called to S. Sunnylane Road for an accidental workplace fatality.

The accident happened just before 9 a.m. Monday at Quad Graphics. Investigators said a male worker was on a scissor lift to remove pipes several dozen feet off the ground.

"These pipes were running lateral to the ceiling at about 30 to 40 feet off the ground," said Oklahoma City Fire Department Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson. "This crew was inside removing those pipes so they were moving them and manipulating them."

That's when disaster struck.

"We don't know exactly how it happened, but the individual became pinned between two of the pipes when they came loose," said Fulkerson. 

Firefighters said the man died on the lift while it was still nearly 40 feet in the air.

"We have one of our ladder trucks inside the building and they have it to where we could operate off of our platform and what we're doing now is stabilizing those pipes," Fulkerson said. "We are still going to be here to remove the victim and get him down safely to the ground."

That was the second time the fire department was called to the area for a deadly workplace incident.

Last week, 18-year-old Robert Sweeney fell close to 25 feet into an asphalt silo while he performed maintenance. The company, T.J. Cambell Construction is right across the street from Quad Graphics.

"Unfortunately, in our line of business, we respond to a lot of industrial accidents. The good news is we're well prepared to assist when we're given the opportunity to do so. In both that incident last week and the incident today," said Fulkerson.

OSHA has taken over the investigation. OSHA issued Quad Graphics a serious violation in July, stemming from an incident in January at the company's New Jersey location. An employee's foot was crushed when a 1,000 pound roll of paper fell on it. 

News 9 reached out to Quad Graphics for a statement but did not heard back prior to the publication of this story.