WEST JORDAN — A Kearns man died Friday afternoon at his work when a near-2-ton roll-up door crushed him.

The industrial incident that killed 40-year-old Leonard Maez occurred at Interstate Brick, 9780 S. 200 West, West Jordan and was ruled an accident, said Marc McElreath, South Jordan Fire assistant chief.

The enormous steel roll-up door protected intense heat from escaping a large kiln that was used to dry brick in the warehouse, for which Maez was an operator, McElreath said.

The man's wife arrived to pick him up at about 3 p.m. When she couldn't find him, an employee went to search and found Maez's body pinned at the waist beneath the 3,000-pound door, according to McElreath.

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"He was last seen by a co-worker at about 1:15," McElreath said. "So he could have been pinned for a couple of hours before we arrived."

The overhead door stands 10 feet high and 25 feet wide; it's about 4 inches thick because it's lined with brick, officials said

Exactly how the man fell victim to such a familiar piece of equipment, with which he routinely worked, is still largely unclear, officials said. McElreath said investigators didn't notice signs of mechanical wear or evidence of a possible automatic malfunction.

— Jacob Hancock

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