A 61-year-old Vidor man died following an industrial accident Monday afternoon at an Orange County steel mill. John May, 61, of Vidor, died following the accident at Optimus Steel, LLC.
May was removing waste from a steelmaking process when, for an unknown reason, the equipment he was using caught on fire. The fire was first reported just before 2 p.m. on Monday. May sustained injuries from the fire and was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
OSHA and Optimus Steel will continue to investigate this incident to determine what happened.
Statement from Optimus Steel:
On Monday March 4th, a contractor was removing waste from a steelmaking process. This task occurs approximately every hour while the plant is operating. While the reason is unknown at this time, the equipment the operator was using caught on fire. The operator sustained injuries from this fire and was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The company will continue to investigate this incident to determine the cause of these events.
