OSHA investigating fatal incident at Sterling Heights granite business

2 men killed by slabs of granite

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – There is new information emerging in what led up to the deaths of two workers at a Sterling Heights granite business on Monday.

Two men were crushed to death by falling slabs of granite. State officials are investigating how that could have happened.

The scene outside the Stone Warehouse was quiet Tuesday. Local 4 learned the company is in the middle of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation.

An orange "CLOSED" sign was posted on the door. Emergency officials said multiple 5-by-8 foot granite slabs, each weighing about 1,000 pounds, fell on top of a 30-year-old man from Warren and a 53-year-old man from Shelby Township.

"They're (employees) very broken up, it's a tight-knit group, so our thoughts and prayers are with them," Sterling Heights Fire Department Chief Chris Martin said.

Dozens of large granite slabs shifted and broke. Rescue crews had to move multiple slabs to recover the bodies of the victims. Equipment was used to move the large slabs safely.

"Those guys do this every day and we made sure we talked to them about how we're going to get this done safely and we're very grateful for their help," said Martin.

The first victim was recovered before 6 p.m. and the second was recovered after 9 p.m. Monday.


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Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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