A routine morning at a Nashville construction site turned into a devastating tragedy after a worker was killed in what authorities are calling an apparent accident.
The incident happened on April 8 at a job site on Ambrose Avenue, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Investigators say the situation unfolded when a worker was using a forklift to move lumber up a hill toward the main construction area. That’s when something suddenly went wrong.
According to early findings, the forklift’s electronics unexpectedly shut off — and the heavy machine began rolling backward down the hill with no way to stop it.
At the bottom of the slope, 42-year-old Stephen Mattson was operating an excavator.
He didn’t have time to get out of the way.
Police say Mattson was pinned between the out-of-control forklift and the excavator. He died at the scene.
Witnesses described a heartbreaking scene in the moments that followed.
“I just heard a lot of people screaming and crying,” one person nearby said. Another witness said you could immediately tell something was terribly wrong by the reaction of the workers rushing over.
“They were very upset… you could tell they were very close,” the witness added.
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Authorities are still investigating exactly what caused the equipment failure, but at this time, officials say the incident is not being treated as a criminal case.