Authorities Identify Man Who Died At Amazon Work Site
OAK CREEK, WI — Authorities in Oak Creek say a construction worker fell to his death while working on the Amazon Fulfillment Center construction site on Wednesday morning.
On Thursday, authorities reported that 24-year-old Zachary Dassow of Kansasville was the person who died in Wednesday’s accident.
According to the Oak Creek Police Department, authorities responded to the site at 9700 S. 13th Street just after 10 a.m. Wednesday for a report of an industrial accident.
Police say a 911 caller told authorities that a worker operating a piece of equipment on the upper floor drove the equipment out an open window bay. Police said the vehicle the worker was driving was a four-wheeler and that it was being used to haul smaller construction equipment at the time of the accident. The worker who called 911 estimated the fall to be between 30 and 40 feet.
“This was a very sad incident. But as the investigation is still ongoing and the facility is not yet operational, questions are better answered by the owner of the site,” Ashley’s Robinson, Amazon spokesperson stated in an email to Oak Creek Patch.
Schofield-based Lewis Construction issued a statement following news of Wednesday’s tragedy:
“Earlier today a member of our team was in a tragic accident at the Amazon construction site in Oak Creek. We are devastated to learn that this incident has resulted in the passing of this team member,” the statement read in part.
Police said Oak Creek Fire Department personnel arrived and transported the worker to Froedtert Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner confirmed that the worker was a man, though did not release his name pending notification of his family.
The Oak Creek Police Department, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and the Wisconsin OSHA office are all investigating the incident.
Amazon Chose Oak Creek Site
Officials in Oak Creek finalized a deal in November 2018 to bring a $200 million Amazon fulfillment center to the city with the promise of 1,500 new full-time jobs by the end of 2021.
In the agreement between the City and Amazon.com Services, Inc., Amazon committed to investing $100 million in property improvements and $100 million of personal property installed in the facility. In addition, Amazon guaranteed to create a minimum of 1,500 full-time jobs with annual gross wages of $40 million by the end of 2021.
The four-story, 2.6 million square foot structure is currently under construction in the new Ryan Business Park in the City of Oak Creek, adjacent to the I-94/Ryan Road interchange.
Officials said the Amazon site will be developed and owned by an affiliate of Hillwood Development, LLC, and leased to Amazon. The City of Oak Creek established a new tax increment district for the business park earlier in 2018.
As part of a tax increment package, Hillwood will fund infrastructure costs, estimated at $13.4 million, mostly related to rebuilding the intersection of 13th Street and Highway V, as well as improvements to Ryan Road. Officials said Oak Creek would refund Hillwood for roadway and utility costs, and up to $3.5 million of reimbursable costs to ready the site for development, through new property taxes collected from the development.
1 Million Packages A Day
As the massive structure rises from the ground in Oak Creek, new details about the project were obtained by the Milwaukee Business Journal earlier this year regarding the scope of the facility and the tax incentives that were used to lure the company here instead of to Michigan or Ohio.
According to data obtained by the Business Journal, the Wisconsin Economic Development Council gave Amazon $7.5 million incentive package divided into $1 million in incentives to create the 1,500 jobs in Oak Creek, with $6.5 million in tax credits offered for building the facility. Those jobs would pay $33,495 annually.
Data obtained by the publication also stated that the facility would ship a staggering 1 million packages each day.
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