An early morning industrial accident has claimed the life of a crane operator who also owned and operated the establishment where the incident took place just before 9am today.
Allegan County Sheriff's Captain Chris Kuhn says his unit's Central Dispatch got the call at 8:55am regarding an incident in Fillmore Township of Allegan County, just south of the City of Holland. Witnesses on the scene told authorities that a crane had tipped over pinning the operator inside the cab of the vehicle.
When Allegan County Sheriff's Deputies and fire personnel arrived a short time later, they confirmed that the man who had apparently been operating the crane was dead…pinned in what was left of the crane's operating cab.
Firefighters successfully extricated 55 year old Robert J. Geurink from the Holland area, and determined that he was the only victim of the unfortunate accident. According to police reports, Geurink had been working alone, moving a large piece of equipment from a flat-bed trailer and somehow during the movement, the crane rolled onto its side causing fatal injuries to him.
Investigators from the Michigan office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene a short time after the accident working to determine the cause. Graafschap Fire Department personnel assisted Allegan County authorities at the scene of the industrial accident, which has been identified as A&B Sales & Rental, which was owned and operated by Mr. Geurink.
Allegan's Captain Kuhn says his department has concluded its work, and the MI-OSHA team has taken over the investigation.
