The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the May 28 death of an employee at a Milwaukee boat business, after authorities say a boat tipped over onto a man and killed him.
Cody Stelzel, 24, died, at CenterPointe Marine on the 700 block of South Water Street. Few details are known of the exact circumstances of his death, leaving Stelzel’s family with questions.
“He would walk in a room and light up the room with a smile,” said Kevin Stelzel, Cody’s father. “His one thing was living life to the fullest.”
CenterPointe Marine specializes in boat storage and offers boat and yacht services, such as engine repairs and maintenance, according to its website. The company has offices in Milwaukee, Kenosha, Door County and Pewaukee.
Kevin said his son was on a boat held by a forklift, when it tipped and he was thrown from it.
The business did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The business has yet to reach out to the family, Kevin said. Police have offered the family few details since the day of the accident and federal investigators have not spoken to them either, he said.
OSHA is required to complete its investigation within six months, a spokesperson for the agency said.
That’s a potentially long wait for the family. They say they don’t want to see what happened to Cody happen to anyone else.
“We still have other questions. I believe some of the questions we have, they could maybe answer,” Kevin said.
Cody, who graduated from Moraine Park Technical College, worked for the business for over a year as a diesel technician, Kevin said. He quickly earned respect there for his work ethic and his quick learning of the job’s duties.
Working on automotives was a passion of Cody’s, his father said.
At the time of his death, Kevin said his son’s life was on an “all-time high.” Cody, who is an organ donor, had recently leased his own apartment. He had purchased his first pickup truck and work was going well.
“You could almost see that or feel it whenever you saw him,” Kevin said. “The world has definitely lost a big person.”
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: OSHA investigates boat death, as family says ‘world lost a big person’
Reporting by David Clarey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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