Update: Worker dies in Philadelphia lift tip-over

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12 October 2009

James Wilson, 40, of Glassboro, NJ, died after falling 125 feet from a boom lift he was working from.

Industry sources told ALH the piece of equipment looked like a JLG 1250AJP, a 125-foot articulated jib plus UltraBoom from Interstate Aerials.

While working on a church roof around 1:30pm on October 12, the lift moved over a grate on the sidewalk, causing the grate to buckle under the lift's weight. The lift then tipped and crashed into a nearby apartment building.

Sources said the ground pressure on this type of machine can be as high as 25,000 pounds per tire. Philadelphia investigators are looking to see if the victim was properly harnessed into the boom.

KHL will update as more information becomes available.

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