Services set for worker killed at Bethany Village; OSHA probe ongoing

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will have up to six months to complete an investigation into the falling death of a worker at the Bethany Village campus in Centerville, an OSHA spokesman said.

Mark A. French, 54, of Dayton, died Wednesday after falling from the tower at 6445 Bethany Lutheran Drive, Centerville police said. He was employed by P&R Communications.

PREVIOUS: OSHA investigates fatal fall at Bethany Village in Centerville

Memorial services for French will be held at 5:30 tonight at Baker-Hazel & Snider Funeral Home & Crematory, 5555 Philadelphia Drive, according to a newspaper obituary. A funeral service will be held at 6:30 p.m. A reception will be held at Buckeye Harley Davidson Banquet Hall following the ceremony.

Why and how French fell remains unclear to Centerville police, who are still investigating.

“There was no one up there that saw what happened, so we haven’t been able to piece any more information together,” Centerville Police spokesman Officer John Davis said Monday.

OSHA responded to the incident Wednesday and returned on Friday as part of the investigation, Ken Montgomery, OSHA’s area director in Cincinnati, said last week.

OSHA will continue to set up appointments with French’s employer and any potential witnesses to determine what caused the incident and how it could have been prevented, said Scott Allen, a Chicago-based OSHA spokesman.

“If OSHA determines that there’s some safety violations that the company had, they could face a monetary penalty for the violations,” said Allen, who noted such a determination would be speculative this early in the investigation.

OBITS: Read Dayton Daily News obituaries here

OSHA’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1, and last week’s fall is the second workplace fall the Cincinnati Area Office is investigating so far this year, Montgomery said. Last year, the district investigated 12 workplace deaths.

Spokespeople for Graceworks Lutheran Services, which sponsors Bethany Village, and P&R Communications did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment for this story.

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