Mar. 11—If Terry Westemeier wasn't working, he was fixing his truck so he could go back to work the next day.
"He never really stopped working," his son, Brent, said Thursday. "It took him a long time to figure out how to relax. He was not one to go home and watch TV after a long day. He was more the go-home-after-a-long-day-and-work-on-something-else."
Terry Westemeier, gravely injured last week in a construction accident in downtown Stillwater, died Saturday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. It was his 55th birthday
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of his death Monday and is investigating, said OSHA spokesman James Honerman.
The accident occurred around 1 p.m. March 2 in the 200 block of Chestnut Street East, according to Stillwater police. A $24.5 million luxury apartment complex is being built on the site of the former Chestnut Building, a block west of Main Street.
Westemeier, the owner of PIC Hydro-Vac, was using a high-powered vacuum hose to suck dirt from a large hole on the construction site, according to police reports.
Workers discovered Westemeier's hard hat near the edge of the hole and found him stuck to and hanging from the vacuum hose inside the hole, according to police reports. Workers turned off the hose, called 911 and started CPR, police said.
Westemeier was transported by Lakeview EMS to Regions Hospital and died three days later.
"This was a very tragic incident," said Police Chief Brian Mueller. "I know our first responders did their best to save Mr. Westemeier. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones."
Cause and manner of death have not yet been determined, according to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office.
There is no set time frame for an OSHA investigation, Honerman said, and the department's records show no previous investigations involving PIC Hydro-Vac.
OSHA compliance officers in Minnesota investigate about nine fatalities a year because of employees coming into contact with objects or equipment.
Westemeier, who started PIC Hydro-Vac in 2020, previously drove a semitrailer and a dump truck. He also owned and operated Premier Insulated Concrete Homes, said Brent Westemeier, 24, of Bloomington.
Terry Westemeier grew up in Rockford, Ill., graduated from Belvidere, Ill., High School and served in the Navy for four years on a nuclear-powered submarine. He left the Navy in 1990. After his discharge, Terry Westemeier moved to Minnesota and worked for U.S. West and Nortel, specializing in installing fiber-optic systems.