NEW BREMEN —A Crown Equipment employee died after an industrial workplace accident Monday at the Crown’s plant 4 in New Bremen.

According to a press release from Crown Equipment, Travis Temple, 49, of Celina, died from injuries sustained after he was allegedly struck by a lift truck at its plant 4 operations on Monday, Aug. 13.

The New Bremen Police Department was notified a rescue squad responded to 510 W. Monroe St. at 2:15 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 13., on the report a male employee being struck by a lift truck. When police arrived at the scene, Crown medical personnel were treating Temple.

Temple was transported by St. Marys emergency squad to St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima where he later died as a result of his injuries. The Allen County Coroner’s Office Investigator Jamie Sizemore said Temple’s body was transported to the Lucas County Coroner’s Office for a forensic study to determine the cause of death. Sizemore said it could take several months to receive the results of the study.

Crown’s release states “The safety of its employees is of utmost importance to Crown. The company has notified OSHA of the incident and is fully cooperating with the accident investigation to determine its cause. No additional information about the incident is available until the OSHA investigation is complete.”

OSHA Toledo area Asst. Director Dan Steffen said they received notification of the incident and are in the process of responding.

“Our goal is to figure out issues at hand and the cause,” Steffen said.

He noted OSHA’s investigation, with the support of the police department, will take up to several months to conduct.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and wish to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Temple,” Randy Niekamp, vice president of Crown Equipment human resources, said in the release. “Grief counselors are also available on site to provide assistance to our employees where needed.”

The incident is being investigated by the New Bremen Police Department.