Editor's note: The descriptions of this accident may be disturbing to some readers.
A 44-year-old man was killed in an industrial accident Friday at Evergreen Packaging, according to the Jefferson County sheriff's office.
Charles Allen Watt, a maintenance worker, was working on a machine when it engaged, seriously injuring him, according to witnesses who spoke to the sheriff's office. He was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center's emergency room, where he died a few hours later.
Sheriff's Deputy Deyonta Jones said she was sent to Evergreen at 8:24 a.m. Friday in reference to the incident.
When she arrived, she was met by Terry Hughes, the plant's health and safety manager, who explained that Watt, a maintenance worker, was working on a machine called a "kicker" when the machine "unexpectedly activated" and struck him, "causing severe injury."
Emergency medical workers from EASI, the local ambulance service, were on the scene performing CPR, Jones said, as they prepared to take Watt to Jefferson Regional Medical Center.
Capt. Yohance Brunson, also with the sheriff's office, was called in to further investigate the incident.
He first went to JRMC's emergency room to find doctors and nurses working on Watt, and then went to the waiting room to talk to Watt's wife, Megan Watt. She said she spoke to her husband around 3:30 a.m. as he was leaving for work and then got a call from one of her husband's co-workers who said her husband had been injured.
Brunson said Megan Watt and her family arrived at JRMC a short time later and were waiting to hear about her husband's condition, adding that Watt's wife "was visibly upset that no one from the paper mill had contacted her."
Brunson told Megan Watt he had talked to Hughes, who said someone from Evergreen would be contacting her shortly. Brunson said Hughes told him also that he had taped off the area where the accident occurred and that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had been contacted.
Brunson then left the hospital and went to the mill where he talked to three witnesses. One of them, Bart Hargis, a mechanic, said Watt was "underneath the conveyor belt working on a converter and was attaching a rod when the kicker engaged crushing Mr. Watt." Hargis said an Evergreen EMT removed Watt from the area and called 911.
Another witness, Ray Purifoy, an electrician, said Watt was on the ground pulling a shuttle cylinder.
"Mr. Purifoy's job was to manually pull the hydraulic cylinder at Mr. Watt's request, Brunson wrote in his report. "Suddenly the kicker engaged and went up and down [on] Mr. Watt's upper and lower body. Mr. Watt's body then dropped to the ground where he began gasping for air."
The third witness, Angela Ferguson, a mechanic, gave a similar description of the accident.
After speaking with all the witnesses and Hughes, Brunson determined that the incident was "was an accident and nothing intentional."
Brunson said he then called Megan Watt around 2 p.m to check on her and Watt's condition, and Megan Watt told him that her husband had died.
Evergreen officials expressed their condolences in a statement issued Monday evening.
"We are deeply saddened to confirm that a beloved Pine Bluff Mill employee was fatally injured as a result of an accident at the mill on March 18," said Beth Kelly, director of communications for Pactiv Evergreen, the company that operates Evergreen Packaging. "The Company is committed to supporting the employee's family during this extremely difficult time. Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be sharing any further details. We are fully cooperating with OSHA and local authorities with the investigation into the cause of the accident."