Airport worker killed by exploding tire

The Associated Press
2/24/04 11:57 AM

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A jetway tire exploded, killing a maintenance worker at Toledo Express Airport, authorities said.

Brian Bergeon, 34, of Whitehouse, was repairing the tire and had removed it from a jetway, which is used by passengers to walk from the terminal to the airplane.

It appears he was standing on the tire and trying to remove it from the rim when it exploded early Monday, the Lucas County Coroner's Office said.

The force of the explosion knocked Bergeon backward about 10 feet, said Deputy Coroner Diane Barnett. The rim struck him in the neck, then continued upward, hitting a garage door that was 20 feet overhead.

No one else was hurt.

The state Commerce Department was investigating the accident.