Mechanic Fatally Crushed By Forklift

A Coeur d’Alene man was killed Monday afternoon when a forklift he was repairing fell on top of him.

Joe Laura, 38, was repairing a forklift at NationsWay Transport Service, 3901 E. Broadway, when the accident occurred.

“He was working alone so no one actually saw what happened,” said Dick Cottam, a spokesman for the Spokane Police Department. “I think he was found very shortly after it happened.”

Laura worked as a mechanic for Western States Equipment Company for 15 months before the accident Monday. He had been a mechanic for 15 years.

Police are investigating the accident.

Cottam said a worker saw Laura working under the forklift to replace a part about 3:30 p.m.

Laura had lifted the forklift with a jack and placed a large piece of wood under the mast at the front of the machine, Cottam said.

Marks on the piece of wood show the machine was resting on about 3 inches at the end of the wood block before the forklift fell, he said.

“A few minutes later, somebody came and saw that it was pinned on his head,” Cottam said.

A truck driver coming to the company found Laura under the forklift, said Terry Pugh, a manager at NationsWay.

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