Accident kills utility worker
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

An OMI employee was killed when a truck backed over him at Waynesboro's wastewater treatment plant. The accident occurred around 12:45 p.m. Saturday when Sewell Clifford Peckham, 25, was leaving the plant to make routine rounds in the city.

He was closing a gate behind his company truck when it apparently slipped into reverse, a spokesperson from the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) said, noting that their findings were preliminary.

The driverless '92 Ford F250 ran over Peckham and struck the gate, then continued up a hill where it hit a tank.

The victim, who was alone at the time of the accident, was pronounced dead at the scene.

OMI spokesperson Susan Mays said Peckham had been a utility worker for the company since Sept. 8.

OMI has been operating and managing Waynesboro's wastewater and sewer departments since January 2001.

In addition to GSP's investigation, OMI officials are in Waynesboro conducting their own in-house investigation.

"We want to find out exactly what happened so it won't happen to anyone else," Mays said. "It's such a tragic accident."