Death devastates co-workers
WORTH TWP — Workers at a Wexford business are devastated over the death of a co-worker who was killed late Friday afternoon in an unusual accident in his home.
The Butler County coroner's office said Timothy Klaes, 31, died of head injuries after strong winds or lightning toppled a tree onto his mobile home about 5:30 p.m.
Slippery Rock Fire Chief Ken Taggart said Klaes was in a hallway and was pinned by the tree. He said the victim was just “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
His 5-year-old son was home but not injured.
Klaes worked in the services department at Animal Imaging Partners in Wexford, where the company's vice president, George Beluk, said many employees were crying this morning.
“Everyone here is just devastated,” Beluk said.
He said although Klaes had only worked there for nine months, he frequently set up an outdoor grill at the shop and made barbecue pork for his coworkers.
“He was famous for his barbecue,” Beluk said. “It was delicious.”
Beluk added, “He was one of the greatest guys you have ever met. He was always happy, and a hard worker.”
He said everyone at the business will miss Klaes.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, and that's not a cliche,” Beluk said. “We all are praying for him. This is such a sad story.”
The tree was still on top of the trailer Saturday morning. A man and woman who said they were relatives were there, but declined to comment.One neighbor said the family had lived in the mobile home for several years, but they mostly kept to themselves.The home is a trailer with an addition in a wooded area not far from Interstate-79The tree is a maple about 150 feet tall and about 6 feet around at the base of the trunk. It broke into two pieces about 8 feet from the ground and fell directly on top of the trailer.Klaes was a founder of the Jeep club called Slippery Rock Crawlers. He is listed as the club's president on its website.His obituary is on Page 6.
