Man who died at Line 3 pipeline site run over by forklift
December 31, 2020 4:56AM CST
HILL CITY, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say man who died while working on a pipeline project in northern Minnesota was run over by a large forklift.
The Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office has preliminarily ruled that the death of Jorge Villafuerte III at the Enbridge Energy Line 3 construction site was an accident. It happened in the predawn hours of Dec. 18 while Villafuerte was checking a list of materials while standing behind an industrial forklift. As the forklift started backing up, a co-worker jumped out of the way but Villafuerte was struck by the rear passenger tire, according.
The 45-year-old Villafuerte was dead by the time emergency responders arrived at about 7:17 a.m.. The Star Tribune reports that he leaves behind nine children.
