A 52-year-old Hammond man was killed Monday night while working at the Ford Motors factory after being struck by a heavy piece of equipment from a crane, officials said.
Douglas A. VanDiver, of the 7200 block of McLaughlin Avenue in Hammond, was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m. at St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The accident occurred about 6:40 p.m. at the Ford plant, 1000 E. 14th St. in Chicago Heights, said Ford spokesman Jim Trainor.
VanDiver, a machine repairman and Ford worker since 1965, was part of a six-man maintenance crew working on machinery during a two-week shutdown at the plant, Trainor said.
“A preliminary investigation shows that a cable snapped and a block and hook on the crane struck him,” Trainor said.