Mill Worker Crushed By Log-Holding Machine

A millwright was crushed to death while repairing a machine at work.

The accident happened during a regular shift Sunday afternoon at Cowlitz Stud Co. in Randle.

Arthur Holt, 64, of Randle, was repairing a machine at the mill that holds logs while they are cut. Holt was welding an arm of the machine and somehow it became activated, according to the Lewis County coroner’s office.

Holt was found pinned under the mechanical arm.

He was taken to Morton General Hospital in Morton, where he was pronounced dead.

Coroner Terry Wilson on Monday reported the cause of death was a crushing injury to the chest.