A fatal accident at Intermet Ironton Iron Tuesday morning is currently under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Wednesday, September 22, 1999

A fatal accident at Intermet Ironton Iron Tuesday morning is currently under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

A dry sand operator, Carl Simpson, 38, was working the sutter molding machine at about 9:30 a.m. when he got caught in it. The machine crushed the upper part of his body, said Bytha Mills, Intermet Corp. director of corporate affairs.

Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Service technicians transported Simpson to River Valley Health System soon after the incident occurred.

"He was transported to a local hospital in Ironton," Ms. Mills said. "Then, from there, he was transported by air to Huntington, W.Va. I guess he didn’t make it to surgery there. He passed away on the way there."

Intermet Corporation officials said they regret that the incident occurred, and added that the company will do everything in its power to ensure it never happens again, Ms. Mills said.

"We are investigating this procedure right now. It’s under investigation right now so that we can find out what happened."

Simpson had worked for the company since March of 1993, Ms. Mills said, and he will be missed.

"We do everything that we should be doing," she said. "There was an accident, and, unfortunately, the person died from it. We’ve called OSHA, and OSHA will be investigating it. We’re just very deeply sorry."

Funeral arrangements for Simpson are pending at Phillips Funeral Home.