Man who died after Gary steel mill fall ID’d as Illinois man

GARY, Ind. (AP) - A man who died last week after a fall at U.S. Steel’s Gary Works mill has been identified as a widowed Illinois father of three who was engaged to be married, officials said.

The Lake County, Indiana, coroner’s office identified Frank Freer, a 46-year-old Pontiac, Illinois, resident, as the man killed in the April 8 fall. The cause and manner of his death are pending.

U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan Cox said Freer was a contractor who was conducting routine cleaning when he was fatally injured in a fall, The (Northwest Indiana) Time s reported. Freer was pronounced dead at a Gary hospital.

Cox said no one else was hurt in the industrial accident. She said U.S. Steel was working with the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration to complete an investigation into Freer’s death.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the individual,” Cox said.

Freer was a widower and father of three who was engaged to be married, according to his obituary. The graduate of Olean High School in New York had worked as a hydroblaster for KM Plant Services for 10 years, it states.