HILL CITY, Minn. – A man who died while working on a pipeline project in northern Minnesota was run over by a large forklift.
The Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office has preliminarily ruled that the death of Jorge Villafuerte III at the Enbridge Energy Line 3 construction site was an accident. It happened in the predawn hours of Dec. 18 while Villafuerte was checking a list of materials while standing behind an industrial forklift.
As the forklift started backing up, a co-worker jumped out of the way but Villafuerte was struck by the rear wheel. The 45-year-old Villafuerte was dead by the time emergency responders arrived. He leaves behind nine children.
