Federal agency investigates death of teen worker at Lee’s Summit recycling center

Federal labor officials are investigating after a 16-year-old worker at a Lee’s Summit recycling center was killed when pinned between a semi and its trailer, a Chicago spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation with the teen’s employer, KC Dumpster Company LLC of Lee’s Summit, said Rhonda Burke, deputy director of public affairs for the Labor Department. The company has no previous history of violations.

The teen was killed about 10 a.m. Thursday at the Lee’s Summit Resource and Recovery Park at 2101 SE Hamblen Road in Lee’s Summit, which is near Lee’s Summit Animal Control. The city partnered with Rody Taylor, owner of KC Dumpster Company, to operate the recycling park when the city’s landfill reached capacity and closed in April 2019.

Police on Friday identified the teen as William M. Hampton of Lee’s Summit. The police department had mistakenly reported on Thursday that William was 17, but on Friday said he was 16.

A person who answered the phone at the Lee’s Summit Resource and Recovery Park declined to comment on the worker’s death.

Police and emergency crews responded to the recycling center and found the teen employee, who has not yet been identified, pinned between a semitractor and its trailer, said Sgt. Chris Depue, a spokesman for the Lee’s Summit Police Department.

The teen was taken to a hospital trauma center where he was pronounced dead.

KC Dumpster, a private company, has a contract with the city to operate the recycling park. Police are classifying the teen’s death as a fatal motor vehicle accident on private property, Depue said.

The Lee’s Summit Police Department traffic unit is investigating the incident and investigators planned to reconstruct the scene and gather evidence.