TOLEDO, Ohio — Authorities have identified employee killed at the Toledo Jeep plant Wednesday.
Antonio Gaston, 53, was working on the Jeep Gladiator line, tightening undercarriage body bolts, according to a Toledo police report released Thursday. Gaston then became caught under a vehicle moving on the assembly line and was fatally injured.
According to an autopsy from the Lucas County Coroner's Office, the cause of death was found to be crushing injuries of the torso. Gaston's death was ruled an accident, and was on the auto-assembly line.
Police responded to the scene around 1:30 p.m. to assist Toledo Fire and Rescue.
Authorities are still investigating to determine how Gaston became stuck under the vehicle.
WTOL 11 crews saw first responders on site near Building 7 at the Toledo South plant, which manufactures the Jeep Gladiator. Local authorities, officials and organizations have offered statements and condolences in relation to the incident.
According to a fundraiser started by a fellow Jeep worker, Gaston leaves behind a wife and four children. "The memories we all have of 'Tone' re brightened by his permanent smile and joyous nature. We work to provide for our families and our fallen brother tragically didn't make it home to his," the statement from union steward Tru Parnham reads.
Previous fatalities at Toledo's Jeep plant
2005: Two people died, including the shooter, in an incident in January 2005. Myles Meyers entered the North Assembly plant, shooting three people and killing one before fatally turning the gun on himself. Toledo police said Meyers used his access card to get into the plant in north Toledo. Meyers had apparently strapped a shotgun to his body and carried it into the plant. Supervisor Roy Thacker was killed in the shooting.
2007: An accidental death occurred when Michael Tiller was found in a battery washer at DaimlerChrysler's Toledo North Assembly Plant. Security at Jeep called for an ambulance around 6:30 a.m. to tend to Tiller, who was injured at the plant. That ambulance took Miller to the emergency room at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead. OSHA sent two investigators to the plant.
2021: An apparent suicide took place at the Jeep paint shop. WTOL 11 reports suicide only in the event of it being in a public place.
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