BREAKING: Worker Crushed To Death At Grand Cherokee, Durango Plant

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

UPDATE: Previous incident at Jefferson North included at bottom.


UPDATE 2: Added name of worker and clarified details.

A worker was crushed and ultimately succumbed to his injuries this morning at Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango plant.

At around 6:30 a.m., 53-year-old Donald Megge, of Sterling Heights, was crushed in a press and declared dead at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. The accident happened during the day’s first shift, confirmed a FCA spokesperson speaking with CBS affiliate WWJ in Detroit. He was performing preventative maintenance duties at part of the first shift of the day starting at 5:30 a.m.

“A plant employee was killed at the waste water treatment plant. The company is currently working with local officials to investigate the incident. All of the FCA family extends its deepest sympathies to the employee’s family during this difficult time.”

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

This isn’t the first time a death has befallen Jefferson North in recent years. As Automotive News reports, a worker was stabbed by another worker at the plant in 2012 during a dispute over a woman. The attacker later took his own life off-site.

Mark Stevenson
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  • DrGastro997 DrGastro997 on May 05, 2015

    When I worked in a trauma center I remember seeing many victims of industrial accidents, some lethal. Whenever the automotive makers pressure their suppliers to make deadlines it's when we see the most accidents. I've seen arms cut off by plastic injection molding, hands/fingers smashed by press machines, etc. Whether it's the negligence of the factory or operator error, these injuries/deaths are sad and frustrating. The "Safety First..." sign doesn't go far enough.

  • Whynotaztec Whynotaztec on May 05, 2015

    RIP. It's hard to imagine such things happening in modern factories, what with LOTO, etc. Perhaps some combination of unusual circumstances. For the truly awful, google the 2012 fatality at the Bumble Bee tuna factory in Santa Fe Springs.

  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on May 06, 2015

    My sympathies to the fellow's family and friends. I've seen some nasty stuff in my career.

  • DeadWeight DeadWeight on May 06, 2015

    This is very sad, and in my more naive days, I would have felt badly upon hearing such news, but would not have distinguished this type (manner) of workplace death from other types. All workplace deaths are unfortunate, obviously, but it wasn't until I gained even a slight familiarity with the types of massive machines, presses, punches, articulating machines, and other heavy duty equipment possessing the power to rip human limbs and crush bodies that I actually pondered how there weren't even more such horrific deaths in what are factories full of dangerous machinery & humans doing repetitive tasks. At an office job, people doing repetitive work get a stapled finger when not paying complete attention. At these factory floor jobs, the same type of mistake can easily cost a person their limbs or life.

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