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Pinellas Park man, 39, dies when loader bucket falls

By Times Staff
Published December 3, 2005

PINELLAS PARK - A Pinellas Park man died Friday when the bucket of a small loader he was operating fell on him.

Richard S. Will, 39, was using the Bobcat loader to install a palm tree at about 12:30 p.m. in the front yard of a house in the 6100 block of 88th Avenue in Pinellas Park.

Will, owner of Artistic Landscaping & Maintenance, apparently stepped out of the loader to adjust the position of the tree. The loader's bucket was raised overhead.

When he attempted to get back into the loader, the bucket came down on top of him. Pinellas Park police Capt. Sanfield Forseth explained that the type of loader Will was using was entered from the front, not from the side like a passenger car.

"We suspect he hit a lever in the loader when he tried to get back in," Forseth said. "That's what brought the bucket down."

Will's wife, Jeanine, a co-worker and some other people in the area lifted the bucket off Will. He was rushed to Northside Hospital suffering from head and chest injuries. He was later pronounced dead.

The incident is currently classified as an accidental death, Forseth said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also is investigating.

ST. PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg police detectives arrested Darryl Antonio Barbery on Friday in connection with an August shooting death.

Barbery, 21, faces one count of first-degree murder for shooting 29-year-old Antonio D. Mackeroy, according to a news release from St. Petersburg police. Barbery was already in the Pinellas County Jail on an unrelated attempted murder charge.

Police responded to a call at about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 3 about a shooting in a lot in front of West Coast Glass, 3451 Fifth Ave. S. They found a large crowd had gathered around Mackeroy, who had been shot several times. He was pronounced dead at Bayfront Medical Center.

Several hundred people were hanging out near the glass shop and the Choice Food Store facing 34th Street, police said. Many apparently went there after the nearby Club Karma and other nightclubs closed, according to police. At first, no one would identify the shooter. It was unclear what the dispute was about.

Witnesses eventually identified Barbery, leading to his arrest, the report stated.

[Last modified December 3, 2005, 01:21:14]