Contractor dies this week after accident at Rumpke recycling facility in Columbus
A contractor died Tuesday at a local hospital following an accident at a Columbus recycling site owned by Rumpke Waste and Recycling Services, according to a company statement.
The incident occurred at 1:20 p.m. at the Rumpke recycling facility located at 1190 Joyce Avenue on the city’s Northeast Side. The person was transported by Columbus Division of Fire medics to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center, Downtown, where they later died, according to Columbus Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter, spokesman for the division.
The Franklin County Coroner’s office identified the victim as 25-year-old Alexandre Desjardins. The coroner’s office said Desjardins and another worker were on a scissor lift. The other worker was operating the lift, and a beam was in the way.
The coroner’s office said the other employee yelled for Desjardins to duck, however, Desjardins did not hear his coworker in time and became crushed by the beam and the scissor lift.
Desjardins was a contractor working at the facility and not a Rumpke employee, Geitter said.
“We offer our thoughts and prayers to all those touched in any way by today’s events,” Randy Broadright, area safety manager at Rumpke, said in the statement. “We are working closely with the authorities and our project partners in the ongoing investigation.”
Jeffrey Meyers, spokesperson for Rumpke, said in an email to The Dispatch that they had no additional information to share beyond the press release. He said Rumpke is “doing everything we can to assist with the ongoing investigation.”
The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating Desjardins’ death.
Rumpke Waste and Recycling is one of the largest family-owned and operated waste and recycling firms in the country. They operate 14 landfills and 13 recycling centers, including major material recovery facilities in Cincinnati and Columbus and a glass processing facility in Dayton, Ohio.
Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this story. @Shahidmeighan smeighan@dispatch.com