GREENFIELD — An Indianapolis man died Tuesday at a Hancock County business when the pickup truck he was working under slid off a lift and crushed him, killing him instantly, according to local coroners.
Steven Dunn, 32, of Indianapolis, was pronounced dead Tuesday morning after suffering severe blunt-force trauma injuries to his chest, Hancock County Deputy Coroner Rudy Nylund said.
Dunn was working in a garage at Goodin Ground Maintenance, located at 52 N. County 525W in Greenfield, at the time of the accident.
The company had hired Dunn to begin installing plows on the front of its trucks ahead of the winter snow removal season, Nylund said.
Dunn had placed an extended cab pickup truck on a hydraulic lift that put the 5,000-pound truck about 5 feet in the air. The lift, which was intended to hold about 12,000 pounds, partially collapsed, causing the truck to fall on top of Dunn, officials said.
There were no witnesses to the accident; but others working nearby Tuesday morning heard the crash and called 911 around 10 a.m. Emergency crews were called to rescue Dunn from under the collapsed car. He was unresponsive and was officially pronounced dead at the scene a half-hour later, officials said.
Dunn’s death is being investigated by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. Officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, will conduct an investigation, as well, in hopes of determining what caused the lift to malfunction, Nylund said.
An autopsy will be performed on Dunn’s body in the coming days per OSHA investigation requirements, Nylund said.