OSHA says it’s ‘much too early’ to rule on contractor’s death - BY DAVID SINGLETON, Scranton Times, PA
Pocono Mountain police said Mr. Mashurak was using the auger when it struck a weed barrier hidden under mulch. When the fabric barrier spun beneath him, Mr. Mashurak was pulled into the auger, police said. Other workers turned off the machine.
Greg Seifert, general manager of Premier Hydraulic Augers, a Fort Wayne, Ind., company that manufactures industrial augers, said he had never heard of a similar accident in his 20 years in the business but could see it happening "pretty easily" if the auger were to grab the barrier fabric.