Gary Puleio: Meadville Tribune 8/16/2001

Gary Puleio

Gary was killed on the job at a concrete plant on August 15, 2001. He had been employed there only 3 months as a non-union cement truck driver and fell 25 feet to his death, from a cement tower, while shoveling gravel off the hopper to clean it. The company claimed Gary just wandered up there on his own, without wearing any safety equipment, at the end of his driving shift rather than being assigned this dangerous task because he was the “new man”. OSHA accepted this implausible story and after admitting no wrong doing, the company paid a $6000 fine for REPEAT violations for not posting danger signs at a confined space and not implementing measures to prevent unauthorized entry. This company had multiple serious violations issued only months before Gary was killed which were informally settled with reduced fines. Corporations routinely “negotiate” with OSHA to downgrade fines through a process called “abatement. ” Aggrieved families of dead workers have no such access to OSHA, face hurdles in obtaining information under the Freedom of Information Act, have their concerns condescendingly dismissed and ultimately are told that no further action can be taken once 6 months have passed since the “alleged violation”. .

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Meadville Tribune 8/16/2001

August 16, 2001

Man dies after falling 25 feet
By Mary Spicer
MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

An industrial accident at Kebert Construction Co., 19824 Cochran-ton Road, Meadville, took the life of Gary Puleio, 53, of 5568 Autumnwood Drive, Cochranton, Tuesday afternoon.

Puleio died after falling 18 to 20 feet into an empty mixing tower at the Cochranton Road facility. According to Crawford County Coroner Patrick McHenry, Puleio was working on top of the mixing tower, shoveling material inside, when he fell. Death occurred at 3:15 p.m.

After rappelling into the interior of the tower, rescue personnel used a pulley system to lift Puleio to the platform at the top of the tower, where he was pronounced dead by McHenry. An autopsy will be conducted today in Erie to determine the cause of death.

Meadville Fire Department's aerial ladder truck was used to bring the body to the ground. By 4:30 p.m., the task was complete.

The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified, McHenry said.

Emergency and rescue personnel at the scene included West Mead Police Department; Meadville Central Fire Department Rescue 7 and Aerial 9 units; Meadville Emergency Medical Service; and West Mead I and West Mead II volunteer fire departments.

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