Name of worker killed at North Idaho mill last week released

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the worker who died in an industrial accident last week at a North Idaho mill.

Robert J. Billingsley, 45, was fatally injured while clearing a broken piece of wood from a machine at Merritt Brothers Lumber Co. in Athol, according to the sheriff’s office. The accident occurred about 6 a.m. Friday.

Billingsley was pronounced dead at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene. He was a resident of Plummer, Idaho.

An autopsy has been ordered by the Kootenai County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The accident is also under investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which may take up to six months to finish its review.

“Our thoughts go out to the family and the entire small community that is affected when something like this occurs,” said David Kearns, OSHA’s area director in Boise.

In early August, a fire burned a planer facility operated by Vaagen Brothers Lumber Inc. on the same mill site.