Clayton News Daily

By Linda Looney-Bond

lbond@news-daily.com

A Morrow car dealership worker is dead after a co-worker impaled him with a forklift, and took several hours to report the incident, according to Clayton County Police.

The incident occurred early Thursday morning, at a Pars Cars building located at 6823 Mt. Zion Road, in Morrow, according to Clayton County Police spokesman, Officer Kevin Hughes.

Victor Manuel Lopez, of College Park, told police the victim, Randy Earl Pike, 51, of Jonesboro, was trying to teach him how to operate the forklift.

Lopez said while operating the forklift, he tried to stop it, but was unable to. "He advised that the forklift impaled the victim in the chest area," according to a police report.

Lopez said he was in a state of panic, and tried to take a bus to the Pars Cars dealership, located on Ga. Highway 54, to tell someone what happened, police records show.

"He [Lopez] advised that he got on the wrong bus, and eventually had to walk to get to the Pars Cars location on S.R. 54. [Lopez] advised that this was the reason that it took five hours from the time the accident occurred, until the fire and police departments were dispatched to the incident location," the police report states.

Around 4 p.m., Thursday, authorities responded to the Mt. Zion Road location and discovered Pike lying on a pallet and slumped over, deceased at the scene, according to police records.

Hughes said no charges have been filed, and the incident is under investigation.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was also contacted regarding the incident, according to police records.

Pars Cars could not be reached for comment Monday.