The Currituck County Sheriff's Office says its investigation into a fatal industrial accident Friday in Barco has found no evidence of criminal conduct. Deputies responded to the scene and began examining the circumstances surrounding the death.
According to The Outer Banks Voice, the sheriff's office released information about the fatal industrial accident and confirmed deputies responded to the scene in Barco. Investigators determined that the death was tragic and not the result of criminal activity, the outlet reported.
No Evidence of Foul Play, Investigators Say
Officials said their review uncovered no evidence of criminal conduct or foul play. The sheriff's office extended condolences to the deceased's family, friends and colleagues.
The identity of the victim, the employer involved, and the specific equipment or circumstances that led to the accident have not been released. It also remains unclear whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or North Carolina's OSH Division has opened its own inspection into the incident.
The absence of a recent case in federal inspection data would not confirm that no investigation is underway: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says its fatality-inspection dataset includes only inspections with opening conference dates at least six months old.
A Similar Tragedy in South Carolina
The Barco death comes just a week after a separate fatal industrial accident at the Panagakos Asphalt plant on Greencove Drive in Greenville County, South Carolina. That incident, which happened on Oct. 23, killed one employee, identified by officials as 28-year-old Kelsy Vance Justus of Forest City, North Carolina, according to the Greenville News.
Workplace Deaths Remain a Persistent Concern
Fatal workplace accidents are tracked annually through federal and state labor statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that violent acts accounted for 18 percent of North Carolina worker fatalities, compared with a 14 percent share nationally, and that the construction sector recorded the highest number of workplace deaths in the state, with 36 fatalities, down from 43 the year before.
The North Carolina Department of Labor says its Occupational Fatality Inspection Review lists workplace fatalities determined to be work-related that have been or are being inspected by the state OSH Division; it does not include every workplace death. The report is compiled by federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. There is no indication yet whether the Barco case will appear in a future accounting.
Following completion of its investigation into the Barco death, the Currituck County Sheriff's Office determined that the death was not the result of criminal activity.
