Jul 9, 2009 9:32 am US/Eastern
Worker Dies After Falling Into Vat Of Chocolate
PENNSAUKEN, N.J. (CBS 3) ―
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The tragic accident happened in Pennsauken on Wednesday morning.
CBS
A factory worker died after accidentally falling into a chocolate melting pot in Pennsauken Wednesday morning.
Crews were called to Cocoa Services factory in the 700 block of North 36th Street after reports of a man stuck in a chocolate melting tank at about 10:30 a.m.
Officials said a 29-year-old temporary worker, identified as Vincent Smith II of Camden, was standing on a 9-foot high platform loading solid chocolate into a melting vat when he fell into the 8-foot-deep vat.
Smith had been on the job just two weeks before the accident
According to investigators, a co-worker immediately hit an emergency shutoff switch and two others tried to pull Smith out of the vat. However, Smith was struck by an agitator, a large paddle-like piece of machinery in the vat used to mix the solid chocolate as it melts, and he suffered fatal injuries from the blow.
"There are paddles called agitators that are moving inside this vat. He was hit by one of them before someone could hit the shut-off valve, and he was killed by that," said Jason Laughlin of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
He was pronounced dead at the scene after being removed by firefighters.
Smith's family is now looking for answers because they believe he wasn't a careless person.
"My brother was a very careful guy. He didn't drink or do any of those things. Come to find out they say it could have been carelessness on his part? That's not his character at all," said his brother, Carl.
Lyons & Sons, Inc., which owns the 36th Street building and manages the Cocoa Services operation, closed the business for the day after the accident. They could not be reached for comment.
Officers from the Camden Police Department, Camden County Prosecutor's Office and OSHA are investigating the tragic accident.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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