SWAMPSCOTT — The Swampscott Quarry accident that killed worker Christopher Perry, 37, of Lynn, Monday afternoon was caused by a rock-crusher malfunction, according to Glen Johnson, a spokesperson from Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office.
Swampscott Police received a 911 call at approximately 1 p.m. Monday reporting a problem with a rock crusher suspended above the quarry operated by Holcim Inc., formerly known as Aggregate Industries, at 30 Danvers Road.
“Perry and another worker were in the device cleaning it when an apparent mechanical malfunction occurred. A nearby crane was assisting in the operation,” Johnson said in a written statement.
Perry was pronounced dead at the scene. The other worker was not injured. Crews stayed on the scene for hours after the incident investigating and trying to recover Perry’s body.
In an email to The Item, Holcim Vice President of U.S. Marketing and Communications Jocelyn Gerst said the company is investigating the accident. Gerst said the incident is “tragic” and “very difficult.”
“The safety of our employees and contractors, and the communities in which we live and work, are our top priority,” Gerst said. “We’d like to express our sincere condolences to the family of the individual who passed away at our Swampscott site.”
According to Holcim’s 2022 Sustainability Performance Report, eight people — seven contractors and one employee — died in 2022 from four on-site incidents across the company’s plants internationally. There were four fatalities on Holcim sites in 2020 and another four in 2021.
“The Mine Safety and Health Administration is conducting an ongoing investigation of the July 17 fatality at the Swampscott Quarry,” U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson James Lally wrote in an email to The Item. “MSHA investigates each mining fatality and prepares a fatality alert, a preliminary report, and a final report.”
In addition to MSHA, the death is being investigated by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective Unit, Swampscott Police, and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Johnson said.
