Worker drowns during an accident with an excavator

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH ~ Daily American Republic

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man died Thursday afternoon after a lake bank partly collapsed, causing the excavator he was operating to overturn and pin him under the water.

Authorities said Gregory "Keith" Robertson, 29, was pronounced dead at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center.

Robertson's cause of death, said Butler County Coroner Jim Akers, was drowning. There will be no autopsy, he said.

"He was submerged for approximately 25 minutes," Akers said.

Emergency responders with the Butler County Sheriff's Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Butler County Fire Department worked to free Robertson, Akers said.

Describing the excavator as a "heavy piece of equipment," Akers said, crews had to move equipment into a "very bad spot" with a steep incline during the attempted rescue.

"It took time to move the equipment in to free him; they worked quickly, not even being concerned about their own welfare," Akers said.

Authorities learned of the accident about 3:50 p.m. when the sheriff's department received a report of an excavator that had overturned into Roxy Lake, trapping its operator in the cab, according to a news release from Sheriff Mark Dobbs.

Roxy Lake, a private lake, reportedly is located off the west end of County Road 450, off Township Line Road.

Upon arrival, rescuers began trying to extricate Robertson, Dobbs said.

"The excavator was under the water, on its side in such a position that the cab door could not be opened," Dobbs explained. "The window was pried open, and [Robertson] was extricated."

EMS personnel, Dobbs said, began trying to resuscitate Robertson and took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Robertson, who worked for the Robertson Construction Co., apparently was "finishing up with some erosion control projects near the lake, along a steep bank," Dobbs said. "The bank apparently partially collapsed, and the machine slid down the bank and overturned once it reached the water's edge."

Chief deputy Brian Evans said the water level around the excavator was about waist-deep.

The cab's door and back emergency hatch reportedly were mired under the mud, due to the excavator's weight.

Dobbs, Evans said, called Missouri Department of Natural Resources officials because hydraulic fluid and diesel fuel spilled into the lake.

Colby Robertson, president of Robertson Contractors Inc. said: "At this time, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. At this time, we are currently focused on supporting the family in any way we can. Keith was a valued member of the RCI family and he will be greatly missed. We are currently investigating the accident and at this time, we do not have all the facts together to determine exactly what happened. We hope to have the investigation complete sometime next week. Again, at this time we are affording every resource available to the family and trying to help them through this difficult time."