MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A FedEx worker has died after being injured in an early morning accident at the FedEx World Hub on Democrat Road.
Family members say the victim was 19-year-old Chandler Warren, who was also a student at Southwest Community College.
FedEx has issued a statement saying its sympathies are with the victim’s family. The company is pledging full cooperation with authorities as they investigate the accident.
Sources say a loader that lifts containers onto aircraft came crashing down Wednesday morning.
“Basically we have to pay attention when we work around things that can hurt us,” Austin Oliver, retired industrial technology teacher.
WREG has learned inspectors from Tennessee OSHA are on site to investigate what happened.
“We have an investigator go on site. Try to piece together what happened. Take pictures. Witness statements. Look at their accident reporting,” said Jeff Hentschel, TN Dept. of Labor.
The FedEx World Hub covers more than 800 acres at Memphis International Airport. It has 42 miles of conveyor belts and is a key nerve center in the company’s package shipping operations.
Since 2005, there have been 12 inspections by OSHA, mostly because of employee complaints. One of those inspections came after an employee died in February 2011. The employee was hurt on the job and developed an infection.
“We’re not looking to assign blame. We’re looking to find the safety standards for their industry that may have contributed to the accident so we can be sure and correct those problems,” said Hentschel.
OSHA has six months to complete that report. We’ll let you know their findings.
Those employees who witnessed the horrific accident were debriefed immediately afterwards.
