A statement from Gerdau labels the incident as "a serious accident in the rolling mill." He was transported to Cartersville Medical Center, where he died as a result of his injuries.
Lanier's death is the second for the facility, following a 2009 accident when 55 year-old Lewis "Bill" Leary, an engineer with the company, was overrun by a forklift.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an investigation into the accident. No further information was available as the investigation is ongoing.
Shoplifter stabs Walmart
loss prevention officer
A Walmart loss prevention officer was stabbed Saturday afternoon in an incident that ended in the Lowe's parking lot while trying to apprehend a suspected shoplifter after she fled the store, according to sources.
The injuries to the officer are not considered life threatening, according to Sgt. Jonathan Rogers of the Bartow County Sheriff's Office.
Sources said the shoplifter was apprehended by an Acworth police officer who happened to be on the scene. Rogers could not confirm reports that the victim was stabbed in the abdomen. Rogers said details are expected today. No further information was available as of press time.
Bartow County inmate
accesses other inmates' accounts
On Nov. 29, an officer was informed by several supervisors and deputies that two inmates' commissary accounts were being accessed and orders were being placed by an individual other than the inmates themselves. After requesting the inmates' account information and reviewing the account activities, the officer found that the inmates lived in a different section than the kiosk that was used to access their accounts.
Upon further investigation, the officer learned that a former roommate of the two inmates was now located in that section. Reviewing the tower operator's logs, the officer confirmed that this particular inmate had access to the kiosk that times the other inmates' accounts were accessed.
The officer contacted the inmate who said, "I don't know anything about those accounts," even before asked. The inmate was advised that the officer was looking into the matter and would review video footage of dates in question. The inmate maintained that he did not know what the officer was talking about and was placed into an isolation cell to limit his access to the kiosk machines.
Later that afternoon, the officer received an inmate request from the subject. In the message, the inmate admitted that he "wasn't completely honest with" the officer. He claimed the situation with the kiosk machine and the two inmates' commissary accounts was done "as a prank & practical joke." The inmate apologized and stated that he was willing to pay for what was missing from the accounts.
Due to the written confession and documented evidence, the officer decided to seek two state warrants for computer trespass.
Police track phone with GPS; arrests three subjects
Around 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, a woman went to the Kohl's store in Cartersville and realized she had misplaced her phone. After her search of the store came up with no results, she returned home where her son was able to locate the phone using a GPS application. She contacted Cartersvile police.
After meeting with the woman, the officer traveled to the location found by the GPS application. The officer met with the resident of apartment A of the address who allowed access to her apartment in efforts to find the phone. The officer did not locate the phone and attempted to make contact with the residents of apartment B -- no one came to the door.
The officer contacted the woman whose phone was missing who confirmed that the phone was still in the same location. The officer decided to stay in the general area to see if anyone exited the apartment.
A male resident of the apartment arrived and gave the officer consent to see if anyone else was in the apartment. While in the upstairs part of the apartment the officer found two subjects -- a male and a female who both acted as if they were asleep on the two beds of the apartment. The officer called the complainant and asked her to call the missing phone. Immediately a phone began ringing on the night stand near the subjects.
The officer asked both subjects whose phone it was -- neither claimed the phone. The woman said her room was downstairs and that this room belonged to the male who let the officer in -- the room also belonged to another man who had not been at the residence for a couple of days.
The three subjects were arrested for receiving stolen property and transported to the jail. The woman also had a warrant out for her from DeKalb County for probation violation.