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800-pound bale of cardboard kills worker

Saturday, August 28, 2010 12:00 AM | Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

By Shelley Smith

ssmith@salisburypost.com

A Sonoco employee was crushed to death when an 800-pound bale of cardboard fell on him Thursday.

Salisbury Police said Maurice Jay Alexander, 40, of 512 Plymouth Ave., was working on a forklift when he stepped off to adjust something. As he was in front of the forklift, the bale of cardboard fell onto him, pinning him against the forklift and crushing him.

When first reponders arrived, Alexander was not responsive. Responders were able to revive him with CPR.

Alexander was taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center, and then transported to Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte. A nurse at Presbyterian confirmed he died Friday.

Robin Montgomery, a corporate communications representative for Sonoco, said Friday afternoon that information surrounding the accident was “fairly sketchy” due to the fact that there were no witnesses.

“We’re still in the process of gathering information about the accident,” Montgomery said. “We’re having to look into it and gather the details as best as we can.”

Montgomery said the company’s main focus was Alexander’s family.

“That’s where our thoughts are currently,” he said. “We’re trying to assist the family in any way we can with any needs they may have while they’re at the hospital.

“We are continuing to gather information about what happened so we can make sure something like this doesn’t happen again moving forward (which is) something we will focus on over the next few days.”

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