Centre County garbage company fined over $16K for workers death

CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A garbage company in Centre County has been fined over $16k for the death of a worker in Jan. 2024.

38-year-old Nathan Kerstetter, of Milesburg, was killed on Jan. 17 while he was riding on the back of a garbage truck. The driver failed to notice an overhanging tree along the driveway while backing up. Kerstetter succumbed to injuries at the scene, which an autopsy determined were blunt force trauma to the head.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene by Centre County Deputy Coroner J.D. Kubulak.

The garbage truck that Kerstetter was riding on belonged to Newman Hill, Inc. They were subsequently fined $16,131 by OSHA.

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“The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to struck-by and caught between hazards when riding on the riding step while the waste collection vehicle was operating in reverse.”

Osha said in the text for the citation.

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