Captain William McNamara of the Sheriff’s Department told the PCNR Monday that Joseph Giachinta, 58, of Cold Spring, was working under a forklift at the Mid Hudson Concrete Products plant on Route 9: “The heavy machinery was raised and supported by a hoist and jack system; however, components of the system failed, resulting in the forklift crashing to the ground and pinning Mr. Giachinta beneath it.”
That sounds like he was fixing the forklift, not using it or under a raised load. But going by what the journalist wrote, and even what the LEO said, is still speculation.
I'm as guilty as anybody of not blocking stuff while working underneath. With most trucks if you leave the wheels on at least you have a pretty good chance of not getting hurt if it slips. Forklifts seem especially dangerous because there isn't as much room underneath, and the weight isn't evenly distributed. Plus they're much heavier than they look.
Just speculating in general, I have no idea what kind of forklift this was or what happened.
You would think it would be easy enough to make those doors come down relatively slow just by making very small ports on the cylinder. All bets are off if the cylinder breaks loose though.