Worker crushed to death at manufacturing plant, SC coroner says
A man working at a manufacturing plant outside of the Midlands was crushed to death, the Aiken County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday.
Andrew Hobbs was killed Tuesday as he was on the job at the Bridgestone-Firestone Manufacturing Facility in Graniteville, Coroner Darryl Ables said in a news release. That’s near Exit 11 on Interstate 20.
The 58-year-old from Thomson, Georgia suffered “crushing injuries,” and was taken to Augusta University Medical Center where he died, according to the release.
Hobbs was injured at about 9 a.m., Ables said. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday in Newberry, according to the coroner.
Bridgestone Americas called the death “an accident,” in a statement to The State from spokeswoman Emily Weaver.
“On June 23, a contractor who worked at our Aiken County Passenger/Light Truck Tire Plant’s warehouse passed away following an injury sustained during an accident at the warehouse earlier in the day,” officials said in the statement. “We are currently investigating the situation. At this time, we do not have any further details about this incident. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and co-workers at our Aiken County Passenger Tire Plant.”
The Graniteville facility was one of two Aiken County manufacturing plants Bridgestone temporarily closed in March in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The well-being and safety of employees remains the company’s most important value,” officials said in the statement as well as in a May 12 news release announcing plans to reopen the plant later that week.
There are approximately 2,200 employees combined at the plants Greenville and Trenton. About 1,730 of them work at the Graniteville facility, the Aiken Standard reported.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 12:23 PM.
