State Investigating Worker’s Death At Campgaw Mountain

State Department of Labor officials said Monday they are still investigating the August 4 death of a 23-year-old employee. The DOL is releasing “no additional information” about its ongoing investigation into the death of Michael Storm Fischer, spokesperson Brian Murray said Monday.

On Friday August 3, Fischer “was helping to close a set of large metal gates at Campgaw Mountain Reservation in Mahwah when one of them struck him in the torso,” an NJ.com report said. According to the report, Fischer died the following day, while undergoing emergency surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson.

According to a report on NorthJersey.com, Fischer was the passenger in an all-terrain vehicle when he and a co-worker attempted to close the gate. Fischer's hand got caught on the gate, causing his body to be thrown and "pinned" between the gate and the ATV, the report said.

Fischer was a lifelong Ringwood resident who had worked summers at Campgaw since high school as a seasonal park employee, a NorthJersey.com report said.

The ongoing investigation into the circumstances of Fischer’s death is “related to public employee occupational safety laws,” Murray told Patch Monday. “Any report of injury or death triggers an investigation like this.” Police units are conducting a separate ongoing investigation, he said.

Fischer, a Lakeland Regional High School Class of 2007 graduate, had almost completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, PA, according to his obituary notice on the Vander Plaat Funeral Home website.

The Eagle Scout enjoyed “biking, running, photography, fixing and tinkering with engines of all sorts, and even doing yard work,” the obituary said.

Fischer is survived by his parents, Robert and Mary Ann and his brothers, Nathaniel and Zak, who all live in Ringwood.

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