SYCAMORE – A Sandwich man was killed Tuesday afternoon at the Sycamore Menards after being involved in an accident with a forklift.
Sycamore fire and police departments, as well as the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office, were called about 2:30 p.m. to Menards for an industrial accident involving one person, Sycamore Police Sgt. Michael Anderson said. The man had turned blue and was not conscious or breathing, according to information heard on a police scanner.
The man has been identified as Evaristo Alvarado, 56, of Sandwich, according to a news release issued Wednesday morning by DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller. He was pronounced dead by Miller at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the pack storage lot of Menards.
On Tuesday, Anderson said a man operating a forklift became trapped in the machine and was crushed. He said additional information could not be released immediately while the investigation is pending.
When asked whether anyone witnessed the incident, Anderson said authorities are still determining what happened.
The man is a Menards employee, but he did not work at the Sycamore store in the 1800 block of Mercantile Drive, Anderson said. He worked at a Menards distribution center in Plano and was at the Sycamore store doing maintenance work.
Anderson said he anticipated additional information would be released today. Anderson and Miller said the name of the deceased initially was held pending notice of family members.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration 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 and was followed by a Sycamore Police vehicle.
The Sycamore Fire Department left the scene about a half hour later.
Media at the scene were not allowed access to the part of the store where the death occurred.
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 Menards corporate office in Wisconsin also was not immediately returned.