Osha Probing Fatality At Rivian Warehouse

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into nan decease of a worker astatine a Rivian storage successful Illinois this week, nan national agency told TechCrunch connected Friday. The agency said nan probe could return up to six months.

The man, identified by section authorities arsenic 61-year-old Kevin Lancaster, reportedly died from “blunt traumatic compressional injuries” aft getting pinned betwixt a tractor trailer and a loading dock astatine nan facility, which is located conscionable a fewer miles from Rivian’s factory.

Lancaster was reportedly trapped successful that spot for astir 20 minutes connected Thursday earlier firefighters were capable to get to him, according to 1 section news report. Emergency crews responded to a telephone astatine 1:40 p.m. section time, and Lancaster was pronounced dormant astatine a section aesculapian halfway astatine 2:33 p.m. section time.

It’s not instantly clear if Lancaster worked for Rivian aliases for different company. Rivian did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. TechCrunch will update nan article if nan institution responds.

The information of Rivian’s mill successful Normal, Illinois became a root of scrutiny successful 2024 aft a Bloomberg News report elaborate 16 “serious” violations levied connected nan institution crossed that twelvemonth and nan 1 prior.

Automotive factories are notoriously dangerous, though, and Rivian has received conscionable 1 usurpation astatine nan Illinois manufacturing works since that study was published. OSHA moreover told Bloomberg astatine nan clip that Rivian “has improved their information and wellness squad and are very cooperative pinch nan OSHA process.”

Rivian assembles its flagship R1 pickup truck, R1 SUV, and commercialized electrical van, known arsenic nan EDV, astatine its 4.3 cardinal square-foot mill successful Normal. The institution is expanding nan abstraction by different 1.1 cardinal quadrate feet to make room for its adjacent EV, nan R2. Once complete, nan mill will person capacity to combine 215,000 vehicles.

The Normal Police Department and nan McLean County Coroner are still investigating Thursday’s death, according to nan section news report.