Worker dies at Tumwater glass plant

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published August 19, 2008

TUMWATER – A 23-year-old employee died Monday at the Cardinal Coated Glass plant after he fell against a pane of glass and severed an artery in his neck, the coroner's office said.

Christopher Benson, 23, of Lacey tripped on the plant floor about 2:30 a.m., and his neck hit the edge of a pane of glass that was coming off the line, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said. The glass was lying flat. It's unclear why Benson tripped.

The glass severed Benson's left carotid artery, one of the main arteries that delivers oxygenated blood to the brain, Warnock said.

Employees found Benson on the floor of the plant, located at 700 Pat Kennedy Way S.W., and called for medical assistance. Paramedics said he died at the scene.

The state Department of Labor and Industries has begun an investigation to determine whether Cardinal Coated Glass was complying with safety regulations, said Elaine Fischer, an agency spokeswoman.

She declined to provide any further details because the investigation is pending. Tumwater police referred inquiries to L&I and the coroner.

A plant manager at Cardinal Coated Glass declined comment.

Father of 3-year-old

Benson had worked at the company for two years and was the father of a 3-year-old son, Andrew, said Benson's mother, Jennifer Padgett. Benson lived with his mother.

She had assumed the worst for her husband, Larry, a long-haul trucker, when she was awakened by the call from the deputy coroner Monday.

"I never in a million years assumed it would be my baby," Padgett said. "Long-haul truck driving, you always kind of have that in the back of your head."

Padgett said her son, like the other plant employees, wore protection for his hands, chest and head when he worked.

"He complained about it, but he said it was necessary because one bad break ...," she said, her sentence trailing off.

The Tumwater plant is part of Minneapolis-based Cardinal Glass Industries Inc., which owns more than 30 glass-manufacturing centers nationwide. Plants specialize in a different aspects of glass making.

The Tumwater plant treats glass used for windows with a metallic coating that keeps out heat in the summer and acts as insulation in the winter.

Cardinal Glass Industries also operates a plant in Winlock that manufactures untreated glass, and another plant in Chehalis, which produces tempered glass.

In July, an L&I inspector responded to a complaint at the Winlock plant related to whether they had adequate protection while carrying glass, but no violations were found, Fischer said.

An inspection is pending at the Chehalis plant, Fischer said. Full details were unavailable Monday.

The agency fined the Cardinal Glass Industries $700 related to a March 20 incident where an employee's hand was amputated from a chop saw, records show.

It determined Cardinal Glass did not ensure the development of an appropriate training program in the use of the saw.

The company did notappeal the citation or the fine.

Fischer said the number of worker compensation claims filed by Cardinal Glass workers in the state is lower than the industry average.

In addition to his mother and son, Benson was immediately survived by a brother, Jonnathan. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Christian Hill covers Lacey and the Port of Olympia. He can be reached at 360-754-5427 or at chill@theolympian.com.