Contractor killed after scissor lift falls on him outside Kravis Center in Florida

Oct 14, 2024

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

A person was killed Monday morning outside the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts garage in West Palm Beach in a workplace accident.

On Monday night, the West Palm Beach Police Department identified 59-year-old John Trevor Whiting of Stuart as the victim in the accident.

Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

Investigators with the West Palm Beach Police Department say the man who died was on the ramp of a flatbed truck, attempting to load a 1,500-pound scissor lift onto the ramp of the truck when the scissor lift tipped over onto him. He was pronounced dead by responding officers at the scene.

"The first-arriving police officers with some assistance lifted that scissor lift off of the man," said Mike Jachles, the public information officer for the West Palm Beach Department. "It was apparently vertical as he was wheeling it onto the truck. At some point, it fell over landing on him."

Police say the deadly accident happened just after 9 a.m. on the north side of the Kravis Center. Detectives say the contractor was doing work on the Kravis Center, but the incident happened outside the building.

Detectives have not identified the man, but say he was in his 50s and was from Martin County.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed it is also investigating this workplace death.

Right now it's unclear which contractor the man who died worked for.

This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.

Top Headlines