SYCAMORE — A Menards employee doing work at the Sycamore store died Tuesday afternoon after an accident in the building.
Sycamore fire and police departments, as well as the DeKalb County Coroner's Office, were called to Menards for an industrial accident involving one person, Sycamore Police Sgt. Michael Anderson said.
DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said he was called at 2:30 p.m. about an employee who had died at Menards in the 1800 block of Mercantile Drive in Sycamore. Miller said he could not immediately comment on what had happened to the man or how he died.
The man, approximately 55 years old, was blue, not conscious or breathing, according to information heard on a police scanner. Initial descriptions of what happened heard on a police scanner indicated the man may have been crushed.
Sycamore Police Sgt. Michael Anderson said a man operating a forklift became trapped in the machine and was crushed. He said additional information could not be immediately released while the investigation is pending.
When asked if anyone witnessed the incident, Anderson said authorities are still gathering information to determine what happened.
The man is a Menards employee, but did not work at the Sycamore store, Anderson said. He worked at the a Menards distribution center in Plano and was at the Sycamore store doing some maintenance work.
Anderson said he anticipated additional information, including the name of the man killed, would be released Wednesday morning. Anderson and Miller said the name of the deceased was being held pending notice of family members.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also was called to the store, and released police from the scene shortly after 6 p.m., Anderson said. No one else was injured.
A Sycamore ambulance left the scene shortly after 3 p.m. with no lights, followed by a Sycamore Police vehicle. The Sycamore Fire Department left the scene about a half hour later.
Reporters at the scene were not allowed access to the part of the store where the death occurred.
When reached, the Sycamore Fire Department referred calls for comment to the Sycamore Police Department. A message left with an operator at the Sycamore Menards for the manager was not immediately returned; the operator said the store would have no comment. A message left at the Menards corporate office in Wisconsin also was not immediately returned.