Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings

   
  Crete Township man dies in landfill accident
Donor sets up memorial fund

A 41-year-old Crete Township man was killed Thursday in what Will County Sheriff's police have called a "Gruesome" idustrial accident in Beecher.
Charles R. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident at the Beecher Development Corp. landfill on Goodnow Road at 9:40 a.m., according to Will County Coroner Pat O'Neil.
Smith, a father of five, was killed when a co-worker backed a large, trash compacting truck over him while he was atop one of the landfill hills.
The accident is under investigation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and O'Neil's office will conduct an autopsy and inquest at a later date.
Members of Smith's family Saturday could barely bear to think about the details of the incident.
"I can't think about the accident," Smith's step-father Larry Hutson said.
"We're trying to come to terms with this.
It's hard to absorb.
"But I'm comfortable that a full scale investigation is under way."
Beecher Development Corp. referred phone calls to John Sexton Contractors. But a Sexton spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Hutson said he often worried about the dangers of Smith's job; he was a spotter for Beecher Development, flagging the large dump-tracks on the hilly terrain.
Smith's mother, Lillian Hutson, said she was told co-workers found her son's body "flattened" on the top of a hill.

She described her son, whom she called Chuck, as a "wonderful son, father and husband."
"He was as good-hearted as can be," Lillian Hutson said as her voice choker with sobs. "He'd give you the shoes off his feet."
A Charles R. Smith Memorial Fund has been setup at the First United Bank of Crete by an anonymous donor in honor of his five children- ages 18 months through 18 years of age - and his wife, Pamela.
Donations can be mailed to the bank at 700 W. Exchange St.
Smith's parents were grateful fro the memorial fund, which they hope could pay for their grandchildren's education.
"I hope people can help for the children's sake," Larry Hutson said. "In a similar situation Chuck would be willing to help."
Services are today at 3 p.m. at the Deer Creek Christian Church, 425 Exchange St., University Park.

More information may be found in his obituary on Page B-2.