MONESSEN, Pa. — A man lost his life while on the job at the Cleveland-Cliffs Monessen Coke Plant Sunday afternoon.
The Monessen Police Chief, David Yuhasz, says the accident has rocked the town.
“It’s right there, you know,” said Chief David Yuhasz with the Monessen Police Department. “You never really think that incident… just like anything else… you never know what’s going to happen day to day, especially when you work in these professions. But we’ve gone, I don’t know how long, without an incident at that facility. "
According to the Westmoreland County coroner, 53-year-old Jeffery Smith died while working at the facility after he was pinned between two machine doors. Chief Yuhasz says his department responded immediately, but by the time they arrived, it was too late.
“When we went over there, I noticed crews were doing life-saving measures on the patient, which unfortunately did not work,” said Chief Yuhasz
The United Steelworkers District 10 Director Bernie Hall released a statement saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with our fallen brother’s family in the wake of this tragedy. Our union’s health and safety team is already on the ground to assist in the investigation and provide support for family and coworkers. We will also continue to work with management and authorities in the coming weeks and months as we seek to understand what caused and contributed to this fatality.”
Cleveland-Cliffs confirmed the accident and issued a statement saying, “We are deeply saddened by this incident, and our thoughts are with our employee’s family, friends, and coworkers. This incident is being investigated by representatives from Cleveland-Cliffs, the United Steelworkers, along with local authorities. There are no disruptions to the Monessen operation.”
Channel 11 confirmed OSHA is investigating, but they have not released any further details currently.
OSHA has six months to complete its investigation; in the meantime, operations continue at the plant.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW