(The following story by Jennifer Brookens appeared on the Fairmont Sentinel website on October 11.)
FAIRMONT, Minn. — A 48-year-old Trimont man lost an arm in a workplace accident at the Cenex Harvest States’ soybean-processing plant Wednesday.
Jeffrey Allen Heupel was injured while operating one of the plant’s rail engines when the remote system malfunctioned.
Lisa Graham-Peterson, a spokeswoman for Cenex Harvest States, said Heupel was moving empty rail cars into the soy meal loading area.
“He was on the engine, which was moving backward toward the doors,” she said. “He was using the remote to move the engine and the engine was not stopping.”
Because the engine wasn’t slowing, Heupel would have been crushed against the doors.
“As many of us might instinctly do, he jumped from the engine,” Graham-Peterson said.
It was when he jumped that Heupel lost his arm. The injury reportedly occurred between Heupel’s elbow and shoulder. Graham-Peterson said there was never a point at which Heupel was pinned between the cab and the door.
“He was alone when this happened so there are no eyewitness accounts,” she said. “But this is what we got from looking at the scene and knowing how operations are run.”
Heupel was able to walk away from the accident and get help. Graham-Peterson said there have been no official statements from Heupel, since he has reportedly had several surgeries since the accident. The company did learn that Heupel’s arm could not be saved.
“We are investigating this fully,” Graham-Peterson said. “The tracks were clean and dry, the 10 empty cars the engine was pulling were hooked up correctly, the brakes were working, and the controls inside the cab were set as they were supposed to be.”
She added that Heupel was following procedure when the accident occurred. The doors to the loading area were supposed to be closed, and the rail cars were to wait outside until it was time to load.
The plant is still operating, but there is no use of the remote system for the rail cars at this time. Graham-Peterson said the manufacturer of the remote system has been contacted.