Coroner ID's 26-year-old killed in Indiana County industrial accident

INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. — The Indiana County coroner's office has identified the 26-year-old man killed in an industrial accident on Wednesday.

Chief Deputy Coroner Jerry Overman said Steelyn Gary Kanouff, of Latrobe, was killed when he was attempting to repair a leak on a Caterpillar 773E rock truck when he was crushed between the body of the truck and front tire.

The accident happened on Oneida Road in Brush Valley around 7 a.m.

“Just from what we’re seeing, it was a mechanical failure. It was no human error and unfortunately a life has been taken,” David Johnston, of DMS Safety Service, said. “He was working on the front strut of the truck, which is basically the shock absorber for the truck.”

Investigators said the strut failed, pinning Kanouff between the truck’s body and the tire. An autopsy revealed that Kanouff died from massive internal trauma.

WPXI