Abstract: At 3:40 p.m. on October 30, 2023, an employee and a co-worker were in the process of removing accumulated scrap metal products from around the belt shaft of a large industrial metal shredder. The employee was positioned in an aerial lift, while the co-worker was standing on a steel beam of the shredder with a cutting torch. A sling was wrapped around the scrap metal of the shaft and attached to the underside of the aerial lift. The sling became entangled in the scrap metal and was going to break. The employee told the co-worker to cut the strap with the torch. When the strap was cut with the torch, the boom of the aerial lift, still under tension, catapulted the employee out of the basket and onto the concrete ground below. The employee fell approximately 34 feet and 6 inches. The employee was pronounced dead at the scene. The employee did not utilize a restraint device while working from the elevated aerial lift.