I grew up around Mansfield, i knew tons of ppl. that worked there, my husband has worked there once. The guy who was killed in this accident was the brother of one of my best friends band members, It's such a small town, i knew the band member and his sister but i didn't know this guy though i'm sure i saw him several times. It's such a tragedy and such a horrible way to die, i can't imagine. Then on the way to school this morning i heard about the Castor boy being ran over, Castor is about 20 miles from where I live and in our parish, i just can't imagine, On the radio they said the family is keeping the dog the boy was trying to rescue and named him Lil Man, the nickname for their son

IP contract worker killed in accident

MANSFIELD — A contract worker at International Paper Company's Mansfield Mill died shortly after noon Monday when he fell into a tank of hot water, authorities said.
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Co-workers attempted to rescue the victim, Toby Lynn Gardner, 35, of Castor, by throwing a rope into the tank. "They were reaching for him; he was right there, but he couldn't hang on," DeSoto sheriff's Sgt. Brett Cooper said. "It is such a sad, horrible tragedy."

International Paper will begin an investigation as soon as possible and will be "cooperating fully with local police and other regulatory agencies," said Kimberly Leupo, communications manager.

The accident occurred around 12:30 p.m. in the mill's pulp area. Gardner was repairing a valve on the three-story linerboard white water tank when he fell in, Cooper said.

The tank holds water that is recycled in the paper making process. It was not full, but the water was about 150 to 200 degrees.

DeSoto sheriff's deputies, DeSoto EMS and DeSoto Fire District No. 8 firefighters responded. Gardner's body was recovered around 2 p.m. after the tank was emptied.

Gardner was employed with Zachry Construction Corp., the company that provides maintenance at the paper mill.

"We don't currently know the cause or circumstances surrounding the incident," Leupo said following the accident. "The site around the accident area will be secured to ensure the safety of the rest of the employees and contractors."

Gardner's death occurred about two hours after another Castor resident, Clay Barnard, died when he stepped in front of a dump truck in Red River Parish while rescuing a dog. Both deaths continued a tragic trend that started Saturday with the death of a Webster Parish woman whose tractor turned over on top of her.

Susan Tatum Piggot, 54, died after being pinned underneath the tractor. She was bush-hogging on a steep incline when the weight of the elevated tractor bucket caused the tires to slip and turn over into a culvert.

"It is such a sad thing to see happen," Sheriff Gary S. Sexton said in a news release. "Unfortunately this incident is not the first tractor related fatality we have seen this year in Webster Parish. I urge people to be extremely cautious and safeguarded when operating large equipment. Even when we know our machine and our territory, we must always be aware of the dangers involved."

wow those are sad stories

Wow those are all sad! Eric works in a steel mill and I know how dangerous it can be in there so reading about the paper mill incident especially turned my stomach!

Wow those are so sad.

quote:

Originally posted by ~*April*~:
Wow those are all sad! Eric works in a steel mill and I know how dangerous it can be in there so reading about the paper mill incident especially turned my stomach!

It's very dangerous work, i worry about dh everytime he goes to work, he works at all of these different plants, while we were in Co. they had a crane fall near where he was working, it's so scary. My brother is a firefighter in that town, thankfully for him he didn't work this call cuz he was off yesterday, i called this morning to check, but i keep thinking about all the ppl. trying to get him out and all the ppl. who worked with him, and then his family i just can't imagine what all of these people are going through today, i just knew people who were related to him and it's made me cry.

I just talked to my best friend, and he said that the guy wasn't even suppose to be working that day, they were having problems with something at the plant, he was on his way to town to buy a car for him and his wife, and got a call that he needed to come by and help them with a problem so he did, the accident happened and whoever called his wife at work to tell her that he had been killed in an accident at the plant, the wife told them there was no way cuz he was in town buying a car, he wasn't working that day, so she completely did not believe it (i don't blame her at all) so she freaked and started trying to get in touch with him but couldn't, i didn't know if he was married or not, i can not imagine, that is my biggest fear, i feel so horrible for her and all of his family

Thats so sad.