Municipal worker killed Mechanic was working on snow gear

BANGOR – A longtime city motor pool employee died Monday afternoon while working on snow removal equipment, prompting an investigation by local police and state officials.

Authorities identified the victim as Ronald F. Raymond, a mechanic with the city’s motor pool department for nearly three decades.

The deadly accident occurred about 1 p.m. at Norumbega Park on Franklin Street.

Police didn’t describe the accident, saying only that the worker was “reportedly injured by a piece of heavy equipment.”

A co-worker called police, and when officers and emergency medical personnel arrived at the park, the motor pool worker was dead, according to Detective Sgt. Paul Kenison.

On Monday afternoon, authorities taped off the entrance to the park on both Franklin and State streets near the Kenduskeag Stream.

At the police station, Bangor police detectives interviewed witnesses, including Bangor Public Works employees.

In addition to local police, the state medical examiner’s office and the Maine Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Standards will investigate the accident.

Although the Labor Department is prohibited from discussing details of an investigation until final action is taken, Adam Fisher, assistant to the labor commissioner, said the Bureau of Labor Standards investigates fatal accidents in the public sector.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigates fatal accidents in the private sector. Fisher said the state has adopted many OSHA standards.

Public sector accidents don’t occur with the same frequency as private industry accidents, accounting for only two of the 23 fatal workplace accidents in 2003, Fisher said.

Raymond was 53 and married.

He originally came to work for the city for a roughly three-year period in 1974. He left temporarily to take a job elsewhere, returning to the city’s employ in 1981.

City Manager Edward Barrett on Monday recalled Raymond as an antique-vehicle buff who loved working on old cars.

Raymond also was heavily involved in the city’s annual combined charities campaign, serving as the organizer for motor pool employees.

“I can tell you he was a very positive, upbeat individual. He was well-liked and respected by co-workers,” Barrett said.

“Our deepest sympathies and our prayers go out to his wife and family,” he said.

Barrett said that as “near as we can tell, we believe the last time there was a job-related death involving an employee who was on duty was in 1980.”

In the July 1980 incident, a ramp foreman at Bangor International Airport was killed when a helicopter’s rotor blades struck a hangar.

Frank Schwabe, 50, of Verona Island was killed instantly when he was struck by flying debris. Commenting on the infrequency of such accidents, Barrett said, “It’s not anything that you ever want to happen.”

City Council Chairman Frank Farrington called for a moment of silence during Monday night’s council meeting. At the end of the meeting, all nine councilors individually expressed their condolences to the Raymond family and Raymond’s co-workers.