Deadly workplace accident trapped victim in a Natrona County pond

The crane operator who was killed on the job earlier this month at a wind-energy construction site in remote Natrona County was driving a crane that rolled into a pond, according to a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office’s incident report obtained by WyoFile.

The victim, John William Hoffpauir, Jr., 55, of Houma, Louisiana, was driving a “large dual axle crane” at about 20 miles per hour on Twenty Mile Hill Road east of Interstate 25 about 20 miles north of Casper on Aug. 5 when it “slowly veered off the roadway,” the report states. The crane “rolled over into the pond and onto its roof,” and Hoffpauir “was trapped inside the cab area under the water and mudd [sic] for anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes.”

A front-end loader was mobilized to the scene to lift the cab out of the water, but that attempt failed, according to the report. “Other workers” in the area broke “the cab window.” Further details about the rescue attempt were redacted from the report.

Twenty Mile Hill Road is not owned or maintained by Natrona County, according to the county.

Blattner Energy, which is constructing a wind farm in the area, confirmed to WyoFile that Hoffpauir was a Blattner Energy employee, but declined to provide further information. The incident is being investigated by the Wyoming Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Officials there say they cannot comment on the incident until that work is complete.

It was the sixth confirmed workplace fatality in Wyoming so far this year, not including on-the-job roadway fatalities, according to the state. Wyoming had 34 workplace fatalities in 2022 (including on-the-job roadway fatalities) — a 25% increase over 2021, according to state and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Hoffpauir worked as a paramedic before becoming a crane operator, according to an obituary published on the Crowley, Louisiana-based Geesey Ferguson Funeral Home website.

He had four children and five grandchildren.

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