MiddletownJournal.com

MIDDLETOWN — A contract worker who was killed Sunday morning at AK Steel was hit in the face with the rim from a tire that exploded while he was changing it, a preliminary report from the Butler County coroner revealed today, Aug. 25.

Michael Lewis, 26, of West Carrollton, was fatally injured about 2 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, while working in a truck maintenance area at AK Steel, 1801 Crawford St., police said.

Lewis was dead when officers arrived on the scene, according to police reports. A fellow contract worker, Gary Norris of Eaton, told police that he and Lewis were changing a truck tire at the time of the accident.

Norris said he walked away for a moment to grab something from his work station when he heard a loud pop. He turned to find Lewis face down on the ground.

Officials at the Butler County Coroner's Office believe the edge of a rim came off and struck him in the face when the tire exploded.

Clint Nigg, an investigator with the coroner's office, said an autopsy is scheduled for today to determine the exact cause of death.

Lewis was an employee of Bowling Transportation, a Fostoria-based company that leases employees to RMB Enterprises. He was changing a tire on a tractor-trailer when the tire exploded, said Jeff Beck, RMB's general manager

This is the second death involving RMB Enterprises, a Fostoria-based contractor, at AK Steel in the past 18 months and the third death of a contract worker at the plant since May 2006.

Beck said RMB contacted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Sunday morning and that OSHA investigators are scheduled to be on site today.

RMB has been working with AK Steel for almost 10 years, Beck said. The company manages 154 workers who transport steel coils from place to place inside the facility and are charged with doing routine maintenance on the trucks that transport the coils.

(Reporter Eric Schwartzberg contributed to this story)

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lpack@coxohio.com.