Anderson County Man Dies After Workplace Accident Causes Him to Fall Into Machine

A worker has died after a workplace accident caused him to fall into a metal stamping machine at an Anderson County plant.

The man – 62-year-old Kendall Collier – was working on the machine at 9 AM on Tuesday, January 22nd, at Stanco Metal Products, a factory in Williamston, SC. He lost his footing and fell into the machine, which two of his coworkers were operating.

Stanco Metal Products is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Greg Shore, Anderson County Coroner, says there were safety features on the machine, according to one of the plant manager. However, workplace accident investigators will determine whether the machines’ safeties were working or not.

Shore added, “There was a coworker also helping operate the machine, and right now we’re trying to determine why the safety features on the machine did not cause the machine to shut down with him being so close to it … There are sensors set up around the machine, so right now we’re waiting on OSHA to get here from Columbia to help us determine why that safety feature didn’t work.”

Collier’s fall into the machine caused traumatic head injuries, which he later died from.

The Williamston plant had one previous workplace accident, in 2007, when a worker fell off a scissor lift when a crane hit him while he worked on electrical lines. The company was fined $550.