Services set for worker killed at IFH
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ROCK FALLS – Services have been scheduled for a 23-year-old Sterling man who died on the job Friday when he was crushed under steel sheets at The IFH Group Inc., where he was a forklift operator.
Visitation for Cody J. Bragg, 23, will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at McDonald Funeral Home, 1002 12th Ave. in Rock Falls. His funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday, also at McDonald.
He is survived by parents Maurey and Kristy Bragg and brother Wyatt Bragg, 22, formerly of Sterling but now of Davenport, Fla.
Bragg, a 2007 Sterling High School graduate, liked outdoor activities and recreational events, and just “enjoyed life,” his family said in his obituary.
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators were at the plant Monday, investigating the accident. Few details were released, and calls to IFH officials have not been returned.
Whiteside County Sheriff’s deputies and other emergency agencies were called to IFH, 3300 E. Route 30, shortly after 4 p.m. The 911 caller said a worker was trapped under a 1,000-pound piece of steel.
According to preliminary reports, Bragg was operating a forklift when he got out of the cab and was trapped under several thousand pounds of steel sheets, Whiteside County Coroner Joe McDonald said.
He was pronounced dead about 4:30 p.m.
No one witnessed the accident, Sheriff Kelly Wilhelmi said. Neither he nor McDonald knew when it happened or how long Bragg was lying there before he was found.
OSHA has 6 months to complete its investigation, which could result in fines against IFH if investigators find safety hazards that led to the accident.
According to its website, ifhgroup.com, IFH makes fluid storage and dispensing equipment and hydraulic oil reservoirs and fuel tanks for construction, agriculture and other off-road vehicles, and does custom metal fabrication and powder coating in its106,000-square-foot plant.
