Employee killed in 'tragic event' at Toyota Boshoku plant identified as Evansville man

A 49-year-old Evansville man and Toyota Boshoku employee was killed at the Princeton, Indiana plant on Monday in an unspecified "tragic event," company officials said.

Gibson County Coroner Barrett Doyle identified the victim as Thierno M. Balde of Evansville.

Through a corporate statement, Rich Norris, Toyota Boshoku's vice president of corporate planning, said the company "cannot comment on the details."

"We are fully cooperating in the investigation that is underway," the statement read in part. "... We take matters like this very seriously and will thoroughly review all investigation results to ensure that this type of incident does not reoccur."

In an email to media just after 10 a.m. Monday, Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said medics and local firefighters responded to the plant that morning to "render aid to a worker inside." He didn't share any other details.

The sheriff's office, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, are investigating, Norris said.

The Indiana wing of OSHA maintains a list of all workplace safety orders since 2010 that either resulted in a fatality or a fine of $10,000 or greater. Toyota doesn't appear on the list.

A different Toyota facility saw an employee die just last year. In November, a worker at Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky plant, 39-year-old Diego Garcia, was killed when a heavy object tumbled from a forklift and fell on him. No further details have been released in Garcia's death.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Toyota Boshoku: Employee dies after 'tragic event' at Indiana plant