Postal Worker Apparently Killed By Truck
Dock Worker's Body Found By Co-Worker
POSTED: 1:10 pm CDT June 2,
2006
UPDATED: 1:37 pm CDT June 2,
2006
FOREST PARK, Ill. -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was on the scene of a fatal accident that happened when a 43-year-old dock worker was apparently struck by a semitruck Thursday night at a postal facility in Forest Park.Meanwhile, police are seeking the driver of the truck, who may not have known they struck anyone.Antoine Thomas of 14246 S. Marquette Ave. in Burnham was killed, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. Thomas was pronounced dead at 10:25 p.m. at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according to the medical examiner’s office.Thomas’ body was discovered on the ground by a co-worker in the dock area of the Bulk Mail Center, a U.S. Postal Service distribution center at 7500 Roosevelt Road in the western suburb, according to Forest Park police Deputy Chief Tom Aftanas.Police were alerted about 10 p.m., and a Forest Park Fire Department ambulance transported Thomas, who was working at the time of the accident, to Loyola, Aftanas said."We believe a semitruck hit him," said Aftanas. It was unknown if the truck was a mail truck, and was being sought as of 11:30 a.m. Friday.The accident happened in the back of the main building of the 24-hour facility -- a secure area that is not open to the public, said Aftanas. There were "a couple of different trucks" that may have been in the dock area when it happened, he said.OSHA investigators were on their way to the scene as of 11:30 a.m., according to OSHA Assistant Area Director David Banas."We were informed of it," Banas said. "I sent an officer that will be doing an initial investigation out on it this morning."Speeding was not thought to be a factor in the accident, said Aftanas, and it was unknown whether drugs or alcohol played a part. No one else was injured, Aftanas added.The Forest Park Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office was also looking into the incident, according to a release from Forest Park police.Copyright 2006, Chicago Sun-Times Inc.
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