A Buffalo man has been killed at FedEx Freight in the Town of Tonawanda after a 1,300-pound pallet fell on top of him.
Town of Tonawanda Police Captain Joseph Carosi said police and paramedics responded to a call of a serious employee injury at the Military Road company at about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, 57-year-old Earl Reese of Buffalo was unresponsive.
"He had been working inside one of the FedEx trucks when a pallet that contained about 1,300 pounds of merchandise that was positioned against the back wall of the truck tipped over, pinning him on the ground with the pallet on top of him," said Carosi.
Carosi said several other workers came to Reese's aid and, when they could not budge the pallet, attempted to use a fork lift to remove the pallet. Reese was unresponsive when first responders arrived. They attempted life-saving efforts, but Carosi said Reese died at the scene.
He says he has not heard of any incident like this before at the freight company's location and there is no indication of criminal conduct in reese's death. OSHA is now investigating the death.