Employee killed at Zion landfill
A Waukegan man was crushed to death Tuesday while working at the Veolia Environmental Services landfill on Green Bay Road in Zion, Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said.
Lemuel Gonzalez, 42, of Waukegan, was working between two extremely large garbage containers when a cable broke and the two containers slid together, crushing him at about 1:30 p.m., Keller said.
An autopsy is scheduled for today, Keller added.
Zion police and fire officials responded to the call just before 1:30 p.m. and arrived at the landfill while Gonzalez was still alive, according to Battalion Chief Eric Troy from the Zion Fire Department.
Firefighters took him to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he died at 2:20 p.m., Keller said.
Keller said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been contacted and is investigating.
A representative of Veolia Environmental Services was unavailable to comment Wednesday morning.
• Staff writer Tara GarcÃa Mathewson contributed to this report.