TROUT RUN — A Clearfield County man working for an excavation company was killed Monday afternoon at a gas well pad in Lewis Township while attempting to unload a huge piece of equipment off a trailer, according to Lycoming County Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr.

Wayne Neureiter, 50, of Troutville, was killed instantly when a 400 to 500 pound ramp from a trailer came down on top of him shortly before 1 p.m., Kiessling said.

An employee of Lindemuth Excavating Inc., of Brookville, Jefferson County, Neureiter was pronounced dead at the scene and died of traumatic asphyxiation, Kiessling said.

The accidental death occurred at a remote site off of Bodines Mountain Road, near the Lewis-McIntyre township line on land owned by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Kiessling said.

Although the accident was not witnessed by anyone, Kiessling did not believe it was very long before other workers at the site found Neureiter, lifted the heavy ramp off him and tried to revived him through cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

On a trailer, Neureiter was delivering a very large piece of excavating equipment for a project at the gas pad, Kiessling said he was told. When he activated the hydraulic-powered ramp, “the hydraulics failed,” the coroner added.

This prompted Neureiter to attempt to lower the heavy ramp manually, Kiessling said.

When he pulled a pin off the hydraulics, the ramp – which was about perpendicular to the trailer – suddenly gave way, knocking Neureiter to the ground. The ramp then landed on top of him, Kiessling said.