The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office is not yet releasing the name of a worker who died in an accident involving a railroad car loaded with fertilizer earlier today.
Sheriff Thomas Dougherty says the accident happened about 10:20 this morning when employees of Crop Productions Services were unloading fertilizer from a covered hopper car on the Lakeville feed mill siding. That involves opening gates at the bottom of the car and letting the product fall out.
But at some point, the sheriff says the fertilizer got stuck in the car’s discharge chutes, and one man climbed into one of the hatches on top of the car to see if he could free it up. He sank into the fertilizer and was suffocated before help could reach him.
The workers realized what was happening and called for help. They and employees of the lumber yard next door tried to dig the victim out with shovels, but couldn’t get to him in time.
The investigation is continuing with a number of agencies involved.