Sheriff Confirms Workplace Fatality In Burr
Worker killed when steel rim separates from tire during inflation
By News Channel Nebraska
NEBRASKA CITY – The Otoe County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed a workplace fatality in Burr, Neb., on Wednesday afternoon.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a tire explosion at the Frontier Cooperative in Burr at 3:45 p.m.
A sheriff’s office press release says Frontier Cooperative employee Paul Sliger died at the scene as a result of injuries he sustained after being struck by a large commercial vehicle wheel.
The 49-year-old Syracuse man had connected an air hose to inflate a large commercial tire and walked away in order to work on another tire. The press release says, when Sliger came back, the steel wheel blew away from the commercial tire, striking Sliger.
A male customer who was sitting in the garage sustained minor injuries. He was treated at the scene and released.
Sheriff Colin Caudill said his office will cooperative with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.