Crime & Safety

Hampstead Man Dies in Forklift Accident at Random House

Ronald William Schlitzer was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ronald William Schlitzer, 44, of Hampstead died in a forklift accident early Wednesday morning at Random House Publishing on Bennett Cerf Drive. 

According to a news release from the Sheriff's Department, Deputies responded to reports of a critically injured man just after 3 a.m.

The news release reports that Schlitzer had been operating a forklift moving pallets of books within the warehouse complex when the forklift struck an industrial grade shelving unit, traveled under the lower shelf and pinned him between a shelving beam and the forklift. 

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Fellow employees and rescue personnel from the Westminster Volunteer Fire Company worked to free Schlitzer, who was found dead once the shelving was removed, according to the release.

Sheriff’s investigators, along with the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration are examining the events leading to Schlitzer’s death.

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