A young man's life was tragically cut short following an explosion at a steel plant in Westmoreland County, as detailed by reports from local news outlets. Daniel R. Vakulick, aged 20, of Tarentum, succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the blast and died yesterday at 12:48 p.m., as confirmed by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.
The explosion, which occurred at the Braeburn Alloy Steel in Lower Burrell, left Vakulick critically wounded. He was one of two individuals injured in the incident that led them to be hospitalized in critical condition, according to WPXI. The incident also prompted five others to be evaluated for injuries.
The blast was reported just before noon at the facility located on Braeburn Road, as reported by WTAE. Brennan Sites, chief of Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company #3, relayed that alongside Vakulick, a third person had been taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
In the wake of the explosion, Michael Grubach, a senior vice president with Electralloy G.O. Carlson, which owns Braeburn Alloy Steel, shared with WTAE that the explosion is under investigation. "The company is aware of the incident," said Grubach, who could not provide any additional comments at the time.
