OSHA officials to investigate teenager’s accident at Ashford company

Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have launched an investigation into whether any federal violations happened when a 15-year-old Houston County boy suffered serious injuries Monday at an Ashford business.

Dozens of rescue and law enforcement personnel, along with doctors and nurses, responded Monday afternoon after Brian Jacobs Jr. fell into an auger machine at Summerford Pallet in Ashford. Ashford Police Chief Jim Stanley said Jacobs had been at the business helping his step-father, Jeff Davis, who works at the pallet company.

Robert Vazzi, an assistant area manager for OSHA, said an investigator would be looking into what happened when Jacobs was injured as part of what Vazzi called a preliminary investigation.

“We’ll just be looking into whether there were any safety violations that occurred, and may have resulted in the accident,” Vazzi said.

Vazzi declined to comment more on the investigation, until the inquiry had been completed.

Steve Pearce, a spokesperson for Southeast Alabama Medical Center, said Jacobs was in fair condition Tuesday afternoon. According to a statement from Pearce, fair condition means the patient is conscious with stable vital signs, but may be uncomfortable.

Stanley said the boy remained in the intensive care unit at SAMC.

“He’s doing extremely well,” Stanley said. “It’s a miracle, and it’s like he’s still going to be able to keep his legs.”

Emergency personnel from several different agencies worked for more than three hours to rescue the boy from inside the machine, which is used to grind up mulch. Stanley said an AIRHeart helicopter took the boy to the nearby medical center, where he had surgery Monday evening.

“The incident is still under investigation,” Stanley said. “It’s not a criminal investigation. It’s just a freak industrial accident.”