MACON, Ga. — A maintenance worker killed at Macon's Kumho Tire plant in April died after a coworker reset the machine while he was inside, pulling him into the machine and crushing his skull, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation revealed.
Now, they're trying to fine the company over $271,000 for 11 violations, which were all labeled either serious or repeat offenses.
According to the investigation, maintenance worker 57-year-old Stephen Brookins was troubleshooting pallet issues on a so-called "WigWag" machine at the Macon plant when another employee climbed to the control panel and reset the machine with Brookins inside.
That caused the machine's grippers to activate and pushed the employee's head into the device, the investigation said.
The report also says that Kumho had determined the coworkers "had full knowledge of the employee being inside the machine" before resetting the machine to "full operation" as the employee was inside.
They say Brookins died from "crushing injuries to his head."
But they say the employees had failed to "lockout/tagged out," which is a safety measure that prevents "unexpected energization, start-up or release of stored energy in order to prevent injury to employees" when machines are being maintained, OSHA regulations say.
But Kumho has long had a record of workplace violations at their south Bibb plant.
Over the past 10 years, OSHA has cited Kumho's Macon plant for more than 50 violations, and back in 2019, they fined them $500,000 for various safety issues.
One of the violations OSHA highlighted was failing to follow procedures when employees were performing service and maintenance.
At the time, they placed Kumho Tire's Georgia on their "Severe Violator Enforcement Program" due to repeat violations at their Macon plant.