Man killed by tape measure falling 50 stories

tay

Hall of Fame Member
May 20, 2012
11,548
0
36
Camden County man died Monday morning after being struck by a one-pound tape measure that fell 50 stories from a high-rise under construction in Jersey City, N.J., authorities said.

Gary Anderson, 58, of Somerdale, was delivering drywall to the downtown construction site about 8:40 a.m. when the tape measure fell off the belt of a worker on the top of the building, said Carly Baldwin, Jersey City public safety spokeswoman.

The tape measure "hit another piece of metal construction equipment 15 feet off the ground, then ricocheted and hit this man in the head," Baldwin said.

Anderson was not wearing a hard hat but had one inside his truck, which was parked on the construction site, where two residential towers are being built, Baldwin said.


He had stopped to lean into the open window of a vehicle to speak to someone. When he pulled his head out of the window, he was struck by the tape measure and collapsed.

Anderson was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health, where he went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at 9:52 a.m.

Baldwin said an official cause of death had not been released.

A woman answering the phone at Anderson's home said the family did not want to speak to reporters.

"Upon preliminary investigation, it appears to be a very tragic accident," Public Safety Director James Shea said in a statement.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to the scene and conducted interviews, Baldwin said.

Anderson worked for National Gypsum, a North Carolina company, according to police.


Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20141104_Somerdale_man_killed_by_falling_tape_measure_in_Jersey_City.html#m13zLvpobmqPeB5B.99
 

CDNBear

Custom Troll
Sep 24, 2006
43,839
207
63
Ontario
Anderson was not wearing a hard hat

That's why you wear them. I'm glad his truck seat was safe though.
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
36,362
4,336
113
Vancouver Island
There was a guy got hit on the shoulder where i was working this summer broke his collar bone from a tape fell about 80 feet. He was wearing his hard hat and steel toed boots.
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
29,151
3
36
London, Ontario
Damn. Now steel shoulder pads. Hello 80s.

Eventually we'll be back to this....

 

Nuggler

kind and gentle
Feb 27, 2006
11,596
140
63
Backwater, Ontario.
Nice cod piece.

Often wondered if those things flip open if ya have ta pee.:roll:

Or........there be some rusty armor on the battlefield.

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........Always wear your hard hat on a construction site, young man, because accidents can happ............




oh my...........:sad4: