POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A 71-year-old truck driver was killed Monday morning when beams of steel fell on top of him at a metal company in Pompano Beach, authorities said.
According to Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King, the incident occurred around 6 a.m. at Kloeckner Metal at 1621 NW 12th Ave.
Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Robyn Hankerson said in a news release that Sylvester Roulhac, of Coral Springs, who was employed by Pro Drivers, had arrived at the business to make a pick-up and was ensuring his load of steel beams was secured prior to exiting the warehouse.
"While standing outside the tractor trailer, a pile of 40-foot-long metal beams stacked next to his truck, each weighing more than 1,000 pounds, became unsecured and fell onto the victim, resulting in his death," Hankerson said.
BSO's Technical Rescue Team was called in to help remove the victim's body from underneath the steel.
"When all of this steel fell on him, no one was there at the time, but they did find him," King said. "And in order to remove that steel, they're going to have to use a crane and go piece by piece to remove this to recover him."
It took authorities hours to lift the steel beams off Roulhac's body.
Hankerson said the body was taken to the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office to undergo an autopsy.
BSO detectives are investigating the death, as well as officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.