A sign maintenance worker suffocated to death on Friday, Feb. 3 while trying to install a sign at Geneva Commons Shopping Center in Illinois.
The incident occurred just before noon. The employee, 47-year-old Donald Tentler, became pinned between a crane and a bell tower and "died of compression asphyxiation due to the mechanical compression of the neck,” Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said in a news release.
Emergency crews, who were called shortly after the accident, provided medical assistance to Tentler, who was unconscious and unresponsive. However, paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. It took responders three hours to remove his body from the bell tower.
Tentler had been employed with Identity Services since 2013. The company installs signs and provides “electrical and lighting solutions,” according to its website.
OSHA has opened an investigation into the incident and has two compliance officers conducting interviews with witnesses, according to a release from the agency.
“Don Tentler will be remembered as a friend and mentor to many. A husband. A father. A friend. A cub scout leader. His passion for his family was clear to see by all,” a fundraising page for his family stated.