Woman Whose Daughter Died from Brain Injury Speaks Publicly for First Time
A woman whose daughter was tragically killed by a dumbwaiter at her place of work in 2014, spoke publicly for the first time since the incident occurred.
The Lacrosse Tribune reports that Kerrie Baures spoke Thursday at the annual Workers Memorial Day. The event is celebrated each year on April 28 and at the ceremony, the Western Wisconsin AFL-CIO honored the more than 80 workers in the region who have died since 1950.
Kerrie’s daughter, Brooke, who was a student at Winona State University, died nearly 18 months ago from head trauma she sustained after becoming trapped in a dumbwaiter where she worked, at the WingDam Saloon in Fountain City, Wis.
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The restaurant’s owners were fined $7,000 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration last year for violating safety regulations.
An autopsy revealed Brooke died after getting her head caught in a descending second-floor dumbwaiter while working a banquet at the restaurant on Dec. 1, 2014.
According to the Associated Press:
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Workplace safety has increased in the decades since Workers Memorial Day was first celebrated, AFL-CIO President Bill Brockmiller said during his remarks the Lacrosse Tribune reports, but even one death on the job is too many.
“ This sentiment was echoed by many of the speakers, including Kerrie Baures, who said in the aftermath of her daughter’s death the family still had a number of questions [like] why was the faulty system not reported … why was it not reported in inspections? No one asked these questions until after our Brooke was killed,” she said. “Not until a beautiful daughter was taken from us.”
Brooke was 21 when she died and was close to graduation. She was a gymnast at WSU and had wanted to work with disabled children and the elderly after graduation.
