odd... it didn't ask me for login/registration... maybe your first
visit is 'free'?

-lance smith


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http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/sep04/262562.asp

Propeller accident kills West Allis man
By KELLY WELLS

Posted: Sept. 28, 2004
A 68-year-old West Allis man was killed Tuesday afternoon when he was
struck by the propeller on an airplane engine he was working on in his
backyard, neighbors said.


West Allis police confirmed that a man in his mid- to late 60s died in
the 2100 block of S. 107th St. after being injured just after 4 p.m.
by "a mechanical device he had in his backyard." Police, however,
would not confirm that the fatal injuries were caused by an airplane
propeller. Lt. Charles Padgett said the department took the device for
investigation.

Police did not release the man's name, but neighbors in the block
identified him as Bruce Hollander.

Heather Jurgaitis, who lives a few houses away, said she had seen him
working on the plane engine, starting it many times. It sounded like
an extremely loud lawn mower, she said.

Karina Stuke said she was watching Jurgaitis' three children play
outside when Hollander started the engine Tuesday. A few seconds
later, "it sounded like it backfired, almost like an explosion," Stuke
said.

"It sounded like a big volcano," said Jurgaitis' 10-year-old daughter,
Anne Marie.

Stuke brought the children into the house and looked over toward
Hollander's yard. It was clear he had been hurt, she said.

Stuke said Hollander's wife had been outside at the time of the
accident but was not hurt. Emergency medical personnel responded
"within a minute or two," she said, but Hollander died at the scene.
Detectives told the women that Hollander probably died immediately.

Jurgaitis, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 18 months, said
she hadn't considered the potential danger. As the neighbors grieved
Hollander's death, Jurgaitis said it was fortunate that none of the
neighborhood children was hurt. Detectives found a piece of the
propeller near the tire of Jurgaitis' car, just yards from where the
children had been playing.

Jurgaitis said she saw Hollander outside nearly every day, and
described him and his wife as friendly and polite. "He was always
like, 'Hey, neighbor,' " she said.