One man was killed and another was injured in an accident at the construction site of the future Lincoln Premium Poultry complex in Fremont, Nebraska.
The two workers were working in a bucket on a scissor lift at the construction site during the morning of April 19, when the basket tipped over, explained Lt. Ed Watts, Fremont Police Department (FPD). One of the workers, Melvin E. Balaban, 56, of Crete, Nebraska, fell about 40 feet to the ground and suffered fatal injuries.
A second worker, Caleb M. Sabatka, 26, of Beatrice, Nebraska, was apparently pinned in the lift equipment. He was flown via helicopter to a hospital in Omaha, but Watts said Sabatka’s injuries are not considered to be life threatening.
Balaban and Sabatka were working in the hatchery building. Their family members have been notified of the accident.
In addition to the FPD, the Fremont Fire Department and Fremont Rural Fire Department responded to the 911 call, which was received at 9:37 a.m. Fremont in in Dodge County.
The incident is being considered an accident by the WPD, and it is not yet known what caused the basket to tip over, Watts said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the incident, Watts said.
The poultry complex is being built to process chicken to be sold by Costco Wholesale Corporation. The complex is expected to open in September, a Lincoln Premium Poultry community relations manager earlier told KTIC, and career fairs have been scheduled to seek workers for the plant.
When the Lincoln Premium Poultry plant is operational, it is expected to process about 40 percent of the fresh chicken meat to be sold at Costco stores. About 2 million chickens will be processed there on a weekly basis, with the average size of birds being 6 pounds, 4 ounces.
