A 48-year-old airport worker was killed on Tuesday, Dec. 9, after a snowplow hit him at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, according to a news release from Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesperson Jeff Lea.
The man, whose name has not been released, was employed by LSG Sky Chefs at the airport. He was in a parking lot that serves the catering company near Terminal 2 when a Ford F550 snowplow struck him shortly before 6:45 p.m. local time, Lea said.
Emergency responders were called to the scene and attempted life-saving measures, but the man was pronounced dead at the site.
According to Lea, the Sky Chefs facility had privately contracted the 25-year-old snowplow driver to clear snow from the area. “He remained on scene cooperating with law enforcement. Driver impairment is not believed to be a factor,” the statement said.
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Snow was falling at the time of the incident, and temperatures were in the high 20s. The winter weather caused significant disruption at the airport, with more than 200 departing flights delayed on Tuesday.
The Minnesota State Patrol Airport Police Department is investigating the incident, while the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office is examining the cause and manner of the man’s death.
“This loss affects all of us – especially those who worked closely with him every day,” an LSG Sky Chefs spokesperson said, according to CBS News.
Weather conditions remained severe the following day. The city of Minneapolis declared a snow emergency at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
