Man dies in quarry accident

Two workers at the Maple Hill Quarry on Rockport Road were involved in a stone-cutting accident Friday morning, killing one and seriously injuring the other. \nBenjamin Strunk, 34, of Spencer, Ind., was pronounced dead at 10:45 a.m. at the quarry, which is owned by B.G. Hoadley Quarries, Inc. of Bloomington. He was killed after a slab of limestone broke loose from the wall of the quarry and crushed him.\nThe Perry-Clear Creek Fire Department responded to the initial emergency call from the quarry. \nMonroe County Coroner David Tourney said preliminary findings show Strunk died of massive blunt force trauma to the upper torso. Toxicology reports are pending. \n"It's pretty obvious it was an accident," Tourney said. \nMonroe County Sheriff's Deputy Ted Baugh was not available for comment regarding the accident.\nAccording to news reports, another worker was injured and treated at Bloomington Hospital Friday. As of 8 p.m. Sunday, a patient care director said the \nhospital could not release any information on the patient, and he was not listed in the patient directory. Bloomington Hospital patients are given a choice whether they want to be listed in the directory.\nPatsy Fell-Barker, the owner of B.G. Hoadley Quarries, Inc., was not available for comment.\nThe last death at the quarry was June 12, 2000, when Bobby G. Martin, a front-end loader operator with 17 years of mining experience, was crushed between two large limestone blocks and killed. \nMartin, who was 48, had been moving the blocks from a reject pile to a different location at the quarry for examination and marking. \nAccording to the Mine Safety and Health Administration's final report, Martin had been standing between the stones when the rear block, which was not positioned securely, toppled over and pinned him against the second block.