JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Authorities have identified the worker who died after falling from a railroad trestle near the Acosta Bridge.
Peter Michnick, 42, hit his head on a girder before falling 12 feet into the St. Johns River Tuesday afternoon.
Police say co-workers jumped into the water to help, but the current swept Michnick away from their reach.
A Good Samaritan in a boat pulled the worker from the water. Investigators believe he was under the water for about five minutes before he was pulled out.
Michnick lived in Carney, Michigan. He worked for Osmose Railroad Services. Michnick and his crew were working on a month-long project to repair the railroad bridge ties. Michnick operated the boom truck. He fell from the bed of the truck and into the river. The company says he was with four other people and none of them heard anything until he hit the water. A company spokesman says it's unclear whether Michnick suffered any kind of injury before falling out of the truck.
Yesterday happened to be the crew's last day on the job. They started working on the railroad trestle in early January. The same crew worked on the trestle last year.
