More details released on death of city employee
The city maintenance worker who died Wednesday at the Springfield Landfill was struck by a semi-truck towing a trailer, police say.
According to a press release from Springfield police, John Choate, 53, was pinned between the trailer and a piece of equipment as the semi-truck was backing up.
Choate, who lived in Buffalo, had worked for the city since 2008, according to a Wednesday press release from the city.
The city of Springfield tweeted about Choate, quoting a city employee who praised Choate. The city employee said: "(Choate) was a super hard worker and a great person. You couldn’t ask for a better employee," and "If something needed to be done, often you wouldn’t even have to ask him; he was already in there getting it done."
The release says Choate had worked for the city since 2008. The truck was driven by Jordan Born, 28, police said.
Choate died shortly after being transported via helicopter to Mercy Hospital. Police said the matter is still under investigation.