A 34-year old Enfield resident was killed in a paper mill accident when he was pulled through a paper roller machine at a Claremont paper company yesterday.
According to news reports, Leo P. Gonyea, 34, was found under the machine at APC Paper Company on Sullivan Street in Claremont, NH. A co-worker discovered Gonyea, and called 911. No other employees reportedly witnessed what happened.
Claremont Fire Chief Peter Chase said that when firefighters arrived at the paper mill, they determined that the paper mill worker was not in the machine, “but had somehow gone through the machine.”
Emergency crews provided life support at the scene and on the way to the hospital, but to no avail. Gonyea was pronounced dead at the hospital, news reports said.
The accident is also under investigation by the New Hampshire Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The paper company had a flawless safety record for the last 13 years before this accident.
It was reported that Gonyea was a temporary employee at the mill. He had previously worked at APC Paper, but was laid off in March as the company shut down for five weeks. But when business picked up Gonyea was re-hired as a temp. His supervisors said that Gonyea was well-liked and his death is devastating to the 60 employees who work there.
Gonyea, a father of two, was due to get married next month. We offer our sincerest condolences to his closest, and all those who knew and loved Leo Gonyea. We hope the causes behind this devastating accident will come to light in the investigation.
