Man plunges 20 feet from a bucket truck and dies, South Carolina coroner says
A 59-year-old man who plunged from a bucket truck died in an apparent work-related incident, South Carolina officials say.
Part of the truck was lifted about 20 feet off the ground when the man was “ejected,” the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said in a news release obtained Thursday.
He fell to his death, Coroner Rusty Clevenger told McClatchy news group in an email.
“The bucket truck along with other equipment was part of the tree cutting job that was taking place when his death occurred,” the coroner wrote.
The deceased man, identified as Lewis “Buck” Mcdonald Jr. of Wellford, wasn’t wearing a harness, according to the coroner.
He died Wednesday night at the scene of the incident in a residential part of Inman, roughly 12 miles northwest of Spartanburg, officials say.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday “to determine the cause of death, followed by a toxicological examination as is standard in work related deaths,” according to the news release.
The coroner’s office says it’s teaming up with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the case and is alerting state officials who examine workplace incidents.
This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Man plunges 20 feet from a bucket truck and dies, South Carolina coroner says."
