Probe continues in Army National Guards soldier's death

Probe continues in soldier's death
Sioux Falls Argus Leader - Sioux Falls,SD,USA

Army National Guard looking into cause, height of fall from ladder at workshop
Matthew Gruchow • mgruchow@argusleader.com • September 23, 2008


An investigation continues into the death of an Army National Guardsman after he fell Thursday while working at the Guard's Combined Surface Maintenance Shop in Mitchell.

Harlan Jay Niewenhuis, 58, died at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls from injuries received after he fell from a ladder while working on a large bay door.

Niewenhuis apparently was working alone at the time, said Maj. Orson Ward, with the Army National Guard's public affairs office.

"Right now we're not sure what caused the fall, and we don't know the height of the fall," Ward said.

Ward said OSHA and the Army National Guard continue to investigate Niewenhuis' death.

Niewenhuis' oldest son, 37-year-old Brandon of Brandon, said his father was a quiet, hardworking man in love with his family and helping people.

"He was probably the easiest-going man on the face of the earth," he said. "He never really got riled up. He didn't ever really talk unless you pulled words out of him."

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