Vermont Man Dies in Port Kent Construction Accident

ANDREA VanVALKENBURGPress-Republican PORT KENT — A Vermont man died in a construction accident this week when he was pinned by a large piece of machinery. State Police and emergency-medical personnel were called to the railroad bed near Lake Street at about 10:30 a.m. Monday after Michael B. Loyer was found pinned by a Barbco auger. State Police said Wednesday that Loyer, 46, of South Burlington was working for Trenchless Technologies of New England, a subcontractor for Steven E. Fuller Excavation, when he tried moving a large pipe, which was about three feet in diameter. Loyer was operating the auger as he worked to install the pipe. But the machine became bound in the pipe, police said, and he was thrown and pinned to the ground by the auger. Another construction worker, Noah Rounds, used a backhoe to lift the auger off Loyer and was able to move the injured man. Rounds, an employee with Fuller Excavation, and Timothy Clark, an employee of the South Burlington-based Trenchless Technologies, administered CPR as local medical crews were notified of the accident. Loyer was taken by ambulance to CVPH Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. An autopsy was conducted Tuesday, and his death was ruled accidental. The incident remains under investigation by State Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Email Andrea VanValkenburg at: avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com