Construction foreman, 59, is killed just months away from retirement after forklift he was operating fell 75 feet from Missouri bridge
A construction foreman nearing retirement was killed on Tuesday when the forklift he was operating fell off a Missouri bridge and dropped about 75 feet near St. Louis.
Alan Jackson, 59, of Pevely, died after he was found unconscious in the construction vehicle near the Blanchette Memorial Bridge, which connects Interstate 70 between St. Louis and St. Charles counties over the Missouri River.
Patrol spokesman Cpl. Dallas Thompson said Jackson was removing construction decking from under the bridge just before 8am when the weight shifted and his machinery fell off the bridge, landing on a sand embankment below, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Foreman Alan Jackson, 59, lost his life when the forklift he was operating fell off of the Blanchette Memorial Bridge near St Louis on Tuesday morning
Officials say Jackson was removing construction decking from under the bridge when the weight shifted, causing the forklift to fall and land on a sand embankment
Jackson was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries less than an hour later, reported KMOV.
'We don’t see any foul play or malice,' Thompson said.
Shaunda White, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said Jackson worked for KCI Construction Co. in St. Louis, which won a $33million contract this year to repair and upgrade the bridge.
St. Charles city and St. Louis County authorities were investigating the incident.
Jackson was a retired US Marine, a married father of three grown children and a grandfather of four.
Jackson worked for a company that won a $33million contract this year to repair and upgrade the bridge
Jackson was a retired US Marine, a married father of three grown children and a grandfather of four. Pictured: workers and officers on a the bridge after the accident
His eldest son James told the Post-Dispatch that Jackson had worked construction for nearly 30 years and was just months away from a planned retirement.
and my mom were planning to take their camper and travel the United States seeing different sights,' James Jackson told the paper.