Frozen Pizza Factory Worker Crushed to Death by Robotic Machine

A pizza factory worker in Wisconsin is dead after he was reportedly crushed by a robotic machine.

Robert Cherone, 45, died while working at a Palermo’s Pizza manufacturing facility in West Milwaukee on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 17, according to a Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office report cited by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Public Radio, and CBS 58.

The West Milwaukee Police Department confirmed in a release that its officers attended the scene of the incident alongside the Milwaukee Fire Department following a report of an industrial accident.

“Life-saving measures were attempted; however, a 45-year-old male was subsequently pronounced dead on scene,” the release stated.

A Palermo’s Pizza employee told 12 News that workers were sent home for the day following Cherone’s death.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was contacted about the incident, which remains under investigation.

Rebecca Schimke, a spokesperson for Palermo’s Pizza, said in a statement issued on Wednesday that “the tragic accident that took an employee’s life earlier today is a terrible incident that is being fully investigated.”

“We are cooperating with government officials and gathering facts,” the statement said. “Palermo’s will be supporting the employee’s family and next of kin. We will also be offering counseling and support services to the Palermo’s team during this difficult time.”

Wisconsin AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) President Stephanie Bloomingdale said in a statement that “while employees at the Palermo facility are not currently organized in a union, we nonetheless share the pain of a fellow worker losing their life on the job.”

“This tragic incident underscores the need for everyone involved in our workplaces — workers, employers, relevant government agencies — to work together aggressively to ensure that every person who goes to work to provide for themselves and their family comes home safely at the end of the day,” the statement said.

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PEOPLE has reached out to Palermo’s Pizza, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for comment.