Braintree Man Dead In Abington Workplace Accident

BRAINTREE, MA — A Braintree man is dead after a workplace accident at Troupe Waste & Recycling in Abington, Mass.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz confirmed the death of Donald Schaefer, 67, of Braintree.

The accident happened around 1:40 p.m., when it was reported that Schaefer fell off a forklift. As he fell off the forklift, so did steel container bottoms, which landed on Schaefer.

First responders arrived on the scene shortly after the fall and began life-saving measures before transporting Schaefer to South Shore Hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead.

A preliminary investigation has found that Schaefer was working with two others to offload several steel container bottoms from a forklift. Schaefer was standing on top of one of the loads to provide counterweight, but when the load shifter he fell to the ground and some of the container bottoms landed on top of him.

According to a news release from the DA's Office, the co-workers immediately pushed the container bottoms off of him and called 911.

Two investigations are ongoing, including one conducted by local and state law enforcement and the other by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).