Worker dies after being trapped by forklift at construction site

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV/Gray News) - A worker in Tennessee has died this week after being trapped by a forklift at a construction site.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the worker, later identified as 42-year-old Stephen Mattson, became “wedged” Wednesday morning between a forklift and another piece of machinery at a site in East Nashville.

Another worker told officers that he was using a forklift truck to move lumber up a hill to the main site when the electronics suddenly shut off. The truck started to lurch in the wrong direction, rolling backwards down the hill.

The worker told investigators he tried to brake and turn the machinery away from Mattson, who was operating an excavator at the bottom of the hill, but he wasn’t able to avoid his co-worker.

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed the agency is looking into the situation.

Nashville authorities said the case is being investigated as an apparent accidental death.