GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Golden Valley PD says a male employee died Thursday morning while working at Menards after a wooden pallet of lumber fell on his forklift.
Police responded to the 6800 block of Wayzata Boulevard, after receiving reports that the employee was pinned under the machine and unconscious. They located him dead upon arrival.
Not long after the incident, a group of individuals - some of whom claimed to know the victim - gathered outside the Golden Valley Menards to express their frustrations, with a woman claiming to be the victim's sister claiming the victim had no training on the fork lift.
An employee working with Menards' corporate office, however, tells KARE 11 the victim was trained on the fork lift.
Authorities have notified the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), who said they are reviewing the incident.
The identity of the victim has been withheld pending identification by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, and the notification of next of kin.
Menards released a statement Thursday evening that read, “We are a small family here at Golden Valley and we are all in shock. Our thoughts and prayers are with our Teammate’s family.”
The location says it has closed its store for the remainder of Thursday, and will reopen at noon on Friday.
In the past five years, MN OSHA says it has investigated 42 accidents where a person died who came in contact with a workplace object or equipment.
