The investigation into the death of a Columbus Brick Company worker last week could take several months, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
William “Joey” Cooper died last Wednesday after sustaining an injury in the Columbus Brick Company factory where he worked as a supervisor. Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant ruled head trauma as the cause of death.
Eugene Stewart, the area director with OSHA, confirmed that his agency is conducting an investigation but said he cannot release details about how or why Cooper came to be injured until the investigation is concluded.
“These investigations take a little time,” Stewart said. “We don’t do them all and finish them up in one week. A fatality investigation, an accident investigation takes a little bit more time and they’re a little bit more time-consuming than a normal OSHA inspection would be…it may be a couple of months before we get this one concluded.”
Stewart said investigators were on site last week and this week.
Cooper had worked for Columbus Brick Company for about eight years, according to Merchant. He was from Macon and lived in the Steens area.
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