Pittsburg, PA
Runaway steel drum kills woman walking in US
Crews work at the scene of a fatal construction accident in Oakland, Pennsylvania. Photo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP
A steel drum weighing thousands of pounds somehow rolled out of a construction site in Pittsburgh and eventually struck and killed a woman who was walking on a nearby sidewalk, police said.
The accident occurred around 10.40am Friday local time in the city’s Oakland neighborhood, where the University of Pittsburgh’s new sports performance centre is being built.
The drum was either knocked over or dislodged from a piece of heavy equipment, police said. It then rolled several hundred feet as it went down a hill, through a fence and onto the sidewalk where the woman was walking with co-workers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre’s Western Psychiatric Hospital. The drum then went across a road before it came to rest against a pickup truck.
The woman, who suffered a head injury, was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. Her name has not been released, and no other injuries were reported in the accident, which remains under investigation.
A man from Fayette County has been arrested and is facing over 1,000 charges related to alleged animal cruelty and neglect.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said that John Saxberg, 57, is facing charges in connection with what he called “a suspected illegal kennel operation” in Washington Township.
According to DA Aubele, Saxberg is accused of subjecting numerous animals to “deplorable conditions” and “circumstances constituting torture,” adding that approximately ten animals suffered serious bodily injuries.
Court records show that Saxberg is facing 1,029 criminal charges in total with offenses including aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals, neglect of animals, penalties related to dog licensing, and violations of vaccine requirements.
52 of the charges that Saxberg is facing are felonies, according to court records.
Online court paperwork shows that Saxberg was arraigned on Tuesday afternoon and is being held in the Fayette County Prison after bail was posted at $85,000.
A preliminary hearing for Saxberg is scheduled for late next week.
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