First at Five, February 2, 2009

AUGUSTA, Ga.---A 66-year-old man is dead after an accident at International Paper in South Augusta Monday morning.

The International Paper company tells News 12 Bill Drake died around 7:45 a.m. He worked at the plant for 43 years.

“All of us are deeply saddened by this loss. Bill worked here for 43 years and was a respected member of the Augusta Team,” said Tim Kean, mill manager, Augusta Mill. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

The coroner says Drake was clearing debris from tracks in the wood yard and somehow fell onto them. A wood-loading crane was running on the tracks and it hit and killed Drake.

The crane has warnings that workers can hear and see, and those warnings were working Monday morning, the coroner says.

"Safety is a huge priority at this mill. We talk about it all the time. It's part of our culture and we're committed to that and we're talking to our employees today about making sure they're not distracted," said Jessica Savage, the communications manager at the mill.

In Drake's 43 years at the mill, family says he was always on time and only missed work a few days when his father died.
They say he was also a first responder for accidents at the mill.

"He was well-respected and very much a valuable member of of our team," said Savage. "We're very saddened by this loss."

The mill is now looking into the incident. OSHA also has a representative now investigating the death.