Dump truck driver killed by wooden mat struck by excavator at Highland Township construction site

HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A dump truck driver was killed at a Highland Township construction site when an excavator struck a pile of wooden road mats, causing one to fall on top of him, officials said.

The incident happened at 2:33 p.m. Thursday in the area of Woodruff Lake and Center roads, Highland Township firefighters said.

• Whitmer reopens Michigan gyms and pools, allows organized sports to resume
• MHSAA reinstates fall football, other high school sports in Michigan

A 49-year-old Howell man was standing outside the truck between a large pile of wooden construction road mats and the front driver’s side of his truck at a pipeline construction site, according to authorities.

When an excavator at the site spun to load the truck, it struck a pile of the wooden mats, causing one to fall on the man and pin him between the mat and the dump truck, officials said.

READ: Oakland County officials find decomposed body, 11 animals, insect infestation inside man’s home

Construction workers removed the man and officials took him to Huron Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to officials.

Detectives and an investigator from the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene. An autopsy has been scheduled. The incident is still under investigation.

• Michigan confirms first 2020 human case of West Nile virus in Wayne County resident
• Governor clarifies statement that she wouldn’t be ‘bullied’ into reopening businesses