Family presses Kinder Morgan for answers in crane death

The family of a man who fell to his death from a crane is pressing his employer for answers about what led to the accident.

Fernandina Beach Police Department told Action News Jax Timothy Dubberly, 58, was making repairs to the crane when the cab separated and fell 100 feet to the ground.

Dubberly's family believes safety concerns went unresolved at the Port of Fernandina. Dubberly worked at Kinder Morgan Nassau Terminal at Fernandina Beach for 25 years as an electrical engineer.

Action News Jax’s reporter Kaitlyn Chana spoke with family members of Dubberly who said nobody notified them for days about where his body was taken. It was through our reports last week that Dubberly’s cousin, Jimmy, got answers.

“Nobody has notified the family about where the body is.  They just said OSHA picked up the body and they don’t know where it is,” Jimmy Dubberly said.

Timothy Dubberly was a loving father to three and a grandad to five. Family members told us they have many unanswered questions about what led up to his death.

We’ve been investigating his employer, Kinder Morgan’s Nassau terminal at Fernandina Beach, for days. According to the OSHA website, in 2011 the company was cited for a safety violation involving a forklift.

A spokesperson for Kinder Morgan said, “The 2011 forklift citation was for a modification made to a forklift that needed written approval from the manufacturer before operating the equipment.  We paid a penalty of $2,000.”

The Kinder Morgan Tampa facility was cited in 2013. The company told Action News Jax it settled with a paid penalty of $1,000. The company says it was a health problem due to having an eye wash station located about 250 feet away from employees' work stations.

The family said no one from Kinder Morgan or Port Authority commissioners have reached out to the family to offer their condolences.

When we asked the company follow-up questions about its contact with the Dubberly family it told us it is not providing the media with details because of concerns for the family’s privacy.

There will be a public viewing on Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. at Oxley Heard. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Burgess Chapel with the Rev. Brian Herrington officiating. Dubberly will be laid to rest in Bosque Bello Cemetery.

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