South Brunswick Warehouse Owner Charged With Obstruction After Electrocution Of Worker

According to the South Brunswick Police:

South Brunswick Police have charged the owner of a local warehouse with obstruction of justice in connection to the investigation into the electrocution of a worker. Daniel Dadoun age 38 of Thornhill, Canada was charged after he provided false statements to the initial responding officers, detectives and the fire marshal about the incident.

On September 11, 2014 at 4:14pm Officers John Niper and Rick Delucia were the first to respond to a reported man electrocuted inside the Seldat Distribution warehouse at 15 Thatcher Road. When they arrived the found the victim Pedro Vincent-Diaz Villafuerte age 48 lying on the floor next to the conveyor belt without a pulse. The officers began CPR and used an AED to shock the victim. The victim regained a pulse and was flown to St. Barnabas Medical Center. He stayed in the hospital for several days but has since been released and is recovering at home.

The investigation found the Mr. Dadoun told initial responding officers that there was no power running to the conveyor belt and that he had shut off power to the area. He later told detectives and the South Brunswick Fire Marshal that the conveyor belt had no power. The investigation found that the conveyor belt had been powered up using extension cords and that the power was never turned off as police and EMS worked on the victim. The company had circumvented fire codes in order to power up the conveyor belt.

The South Brunswick Fire Marshal issued $52,000 in fines to the company for numerous safety violations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to the scene and will be issuing their own fines. Mr. Dadoun turned himself in with his lawyer on Thursday. He was released pending his first court appearance.