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Police records indicate the moments leading to death of Patterson, 57, were captured on company video at the Chinese automobile glass manufacturing plant, Moraine’s largest employer with about 2,000 jobs.
“The video shows the pallet of glass shifted forward,” according to Moraine police records. “Patterson then walks in between the forklift and the glass, grabs a strip cutter, and cuts the west side strap, causing the glass to crush him in the forklift.”
The police report said the footage seen on the video, with time codes, is as follows:
"-5:10,16: Patterson cuts straps on glass, causing it to crush him.
-5:14.57: Co-worker sees Patterson wedged between forklift and glass;
-5:15.10: A second forklift and safety officer arrive;
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-5:16.10: Multiple employees check on Patterson;
-5:22.10: Second forklift is tied to glass;
-5:23.54: Second forklift attempts to pull glass from Patterson."
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EARLIER REPORT: A 911 caller from Fuyao Glass America Inc. told dispatchers early in the conversation Tuesday morning that he thought a forklift operator had died.
The 10-minute call at 5:13 a.m. from the Chinese automobile glass manufacturing plant on Stroop Road in Moraine indicates that when Ricky Patterson of Dayton was discovered, it was too late to save him, records show.
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“I think this guy might be dead,” the caller told a dispatcher.
The caller later added to others in the vicinity “I think the guy’s dead….I think the glass fell on him.”
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The 57-year-old Patterson died after being crushed between a forklift and more than a ton of glass, Moraine police records show.
The accident that killed Patterson was captured on video by the company that supplies about 2,000 jobs in the city, the Moraine Police Division incident report states.
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Patterson was found “wedged in between” the industrial machine and a pallet of glass, which had a tag indicating it weighed 2,097 pounds, the report states.
Patterson died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck in what was ruled an accident, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the issue.
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