Post by Moses on Jan 10, 2005 13:55:42 GMT -5
www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-locgas10011005jan10,1,2500907,print.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
Teen dies day after gas exposure
The 18-year-old worker at a Sanford McDonald's was the 2nd casualty of the carbon-dioxide leak.
By Christopher Sherman
Sentinel Staff Writer
January 10, 2005
A Sanford McDonald's employee died Sunday, a day after an attempt to refill a carbon-dioxide tank also killed a compressed-gas truck driver.
Christopher Edgar, 18, died at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, police investigator Steven Vazquez said. Delivery truck driver George Torres, 49, of Apopka, died of carbon-dioxide poisoning Saturday afternoon in the restaurant's storage room.
Police on Sunday released details about the accident:
Edgar scaled a 10-foot wall and dropped into the McDonald's storage room with the intention of unlocking the door from the inside so Torres could refill the restaurant's tank, investigators said Sunday.
When Edgar could not open the door, investigators think Torres, an employee of Stuart-based NuCO2, fed the hose over the wall to Edgar to hook it up, Vazquez said.
"Chris was sent to jump the wall" by another McDonald's employee, said Vazquez, who described Torres as short and stocky.
Investigators think Torres jumped in to help, but was also trapped inside the room, which had no ceiling but was locked with a deadbolt. No one at the Sanford restaurant had the key, Vazquez said. A manager brought the key from home after another employee climbed a ladder, found Edgar and Torres unconscious and dialed 911.
On Sunday, family remembered Torres as a dedicated worker, father and grandfather.
"This was a tragic loss for his family," said his brother-in-law Rudy Prado. Torres leaves behind a 26-year-old daughter and two grandsons, as well as brothers, sisters and his father, Prado said.
"We would like to say that our thoughts and prayers are with the victim of the other family who has suffered as well," Prado said.
The family declined to comment on the ongoing investigation because they had little information, Prado said. Torres had a decade of experience working with hazardous materials before his job with NuCO2, he said.
Michael E. DeDomenico, NuCO2 chairman and CEO, said company officials were waiting to find out exactly what happened. He said Torres was with the company for three years and had an excellent safety record.
He said Torres was making a regular delivery of carbon dioxide, which is stored in tanks and injected into soda syrup to make it fizz.
"We really don't have the level of information to ascertain what happened," DeDomenico said. "We never want to let this happen again."
Edgar's family could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Vazquez, the police investigator, said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, had taken over the investigation. OSHA investigators in Jacksonville could not be reached for comment.
Amy C. Rippel of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Christopher Sherman can be reached at csherman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6361.