STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
CASE#: 26A5003845
RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Sgt. Joshua Mikkola
STATION: Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Troop A East – Derby
CONTACT#: 802-334-8881
DATE/TIME: About 9:40 a.m. Thursday, July 9, 2026
INCIDENT LOCATION: Casella Waste Systems, 21 Landfill Lane, Coventry, VT
INCIDENT TYPE: Death investigation
VICTIM: Thomas Feerick
AGE: 58
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Fairfax, VT
SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:
The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of a man following a workplace accident at the Casella landfill in Coventry on Thursday morning, July 9, 2026.
The incident was reported at about 9:40 a.m., when Newport EMS was dispatched to the landfill for an unconscious man. The man, who was later identified as Thomas Feerick, 58, of Fairfax, was reported to have fallen. Newport EMS arrived and brought Feerick to North Country Hospital in Newport. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful, and he succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased later Thursday morning.
Subsequent investigation by the state police revealed Feerick was hired as a subcontractor at the landfill and was operating an aerial lift to remove a section of fencing when the lift tipped over down a small embankment. Feerick was not harnessed and was ejected from the platform when it struck the ground or just before. Contractors nearby rushed to Feerick and called 911. All evidence suggests the incident was accidental and is not considered suspicious.
Feerick’s body was transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
No additional details are available at this time.
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