TROUT RUN (AP) — State and federal authorities are investigating the death of a worker at a state gas well pad in central Pennsylvania.
State police and the Lycoming County coroner’s office were called to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources well pad shortly before 3 p.m. Monday.
The coroner’s office says 50-year-old Wayne Neureiter was unloading a large excavator from a trailer near the well pad, but the down-drop tailgate ramp that normally operates on an electrical/hydraulic system wasn’t functioning.
The coroner’s office says Neureiter was trying to manually lower the ramp when it knocked him to the ground and landed on his chest, which resulted in traumatic asphyxiation.
State police and the coroner’s office are investigating along with the department and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
