The CEO of a machinery company was killed at a Georgia electric vehicle construction site after a forklift driver, who was using his cellphone while operating the heavy machinery, hit him and “ran away,” according to a report.
The 45-year-old CEO of Hyundai subcontractor SBY America, Sunbok You, died after he was struck by a forklift at the HL-GA Battery Company construction site on March 21, according to a recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration report obtained by WTOC.
You was talking with some of the workers at the electric vehicle construction site when he walked across an area and got hit by the forklift, according to the report.
He had been wearing an eye patch on his right eye and a black vest at the time – despite company rules stating that he should’ve been wearing a high-visibility green vest.
Statements given to OSHA by a safety manager stated that the forklift operator was talking on the phone while driving. After striking You, the operator “ran away” without checking on the hurt CEO, according to the report.
According to the OSHA report, the forklift driver worked for a separate contractor, Beyond Iron Construction.
OSHA opened an investigation into HL-GA Battery Company, SBY America, Beyond Iron Construction and another company, Steel Brothers Development, following the incident and fined three of the businesses.
Beyond Iron Construction received the largest fine of $16,550 after OSHA found it exposed employees to “struck-by and crushing hazards.” The investigation also found that the company did not ensure forklift drivers were following traffic regulations, including speed limits.
Meanwhile, SBY America, led by You, was fined just under $10,000. HL-GA Battery Company received a $1,800 fine for failing to submit required work-related injury or illness forms to OSHA.
You is not the first person to die during the construction of the EV plant, according to WTOC.
Worker Victor Gamboa died at the site after falling 60 feet to his death in April 2023. Gamboa was an employee of steel contractor Eastern Constructors Inc. and died while accessing the top beam of a structural steel frame for the 16-million-square-foot EV assembly plant, Engineering News-Record reported earlier this year.
Bryan County EMS records revealed there were also 53 calls for services at the site made over a 16-month period. Over a dozen of those calls were for traumatic injuries, including one forklift incident, according to the report.
Before You’s death, a construction worker was hospitalized after being injured in a pipe explosion.
OSHA has opened at least 15 investigations into incidents at the site, including You’s death and the pipe explosion.
