Safety and Health
Worker Killed in Freak Chop-Saw Accident
Massachusetts man was working second job to earn extra money
A 28-year-old water mechanic cutting a water-pipe connection to a Duxbury, Mass., residential construction died on Nov. 16, when his circular chop saw became bound and kicked back, striking him in the neck.
Authorities have identified the dead man as Jason Sanderson of Carver, Mass. The office of Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz stated that Duxbury Police responded to a 2:15 p.m. report of a workplace accident on Tremont Street, where emergency personnel found Sanderson suffering from a severe neck wound. Paramedics administered first aid at the scene before Sanderson was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital, Plymouth, where he was pronounced dead.
Duxbury Police Chief Stephen McDonald declined to comment on the case, adding that it had been handed over to the Plymouth County district attorney and the Massachusetts State Police.
Speaking to Fox25 TV, the family of Sanderson said he worked full time for the Middleboroug Water Dept. (MWD) and, on Nov. 19, took a private job to earn extra money.
Christopher Peck, director of public works for the town of Middleborough, which oversees the MWD, said Sanderson was a water mechanic and laborer, and a member of Local 1700 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. He had worked for MWD for 10 years. “He wasn’t using our equipment [when he was injured], so we don’t know what happened,” Peck said.
At MWD, Sanderson received annual Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other safety training for licensing. An OSHA spokesman said he had confirmation “the deceased was working part time for Daniel Orwig d/b/a Orwig Associates of Duxbury and the job did not involve a private residence.” Daniel Orwig did not return calls from ENR regarding the incident.
Peter Makin, superintendent of the Duxbury Water and Sewer department, said the accident occurred off Mass 3A on Tremont Street, where a private developer is constructing three or four homes for a small subdivision that will be sited on a new road called Little Town Way. He did not have the name of the developer.
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“The utility currently belongs to the [construction] contractor but will become ours after the contractor passes pressure testing and chlorination” of the 8-in.-dia water pipeline, Makin says. “The developer installed the pipes but has not met our specifications yet.” OSHA began an inspection of the incident on Nov. 19, the spokesman said.
The Dept. of Industrial Accidents and the District Engineering Inspectors, both in Massachusetts, also are conducting investigations. Sanderson is survived by his widow, Jennifer Marie Sanderson, and their children Dylann, 9, and 18-month-old twins Lily and Colin. According to local news reports, Colin has a disability and requires a feeding tube. Jennifer Sanderson worries that she will not be able to return to her job as a nurse because she has to take care of the twins. A Go Fund Me account has been been established to benefit the family.
