MACON, Ga. — Update:
Federal workplace safety agency O.S.H.A. confirmed to 13WMAZ on Thursday that they've opened an investigation into the workplace death at Kumho Tire the day before.
According to a preliminary report, they say a maintenance worker was killed while attempting to repair a machine called the "wig-wag."
OSHA say the report indicates the machine was not locked and tagged out.
Lockout tagout 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, according to OSHA regulations.
They believe the worker was pulled into the machine and was killed by their injuries.
Original:
A worker died Wednesday afternoon at the Kumho Tire plant in South Bibb County, according to coroner Leon Jones.
So far, 13WMAZ has no details on the victim or how it happened.
We do know that the plant opened in 2016 and the Korean tire company has paid more than a half million dollars in fines for accidents there.
That includes a worker who fell to their death while the plant was under construction, and employees who suffered amputations on the job.
OSHA, the federal agency, has cited Kumho for nearly four dozen violations since they opened and called many called many of them 'serious and repeat violations'.
Last year, they said Kumho wasn't performing required inspection and exposed workers to the risk of being struck by a crane.
We reached out to Kumho for comment but they did not immediately respond to our request.
13WMAZ sent a crew outside Kumho, and will update this story when more details are available.
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