A refuse worker was killed yesterday when a utility pole fell on him in Castle Shannon in what the police chief called a "freak accident."

	V.W.H. Campbell, Post-Gazette Investigators work yesterday at the scene of a fatal accident in which garbage man Matthew Goldsmith, of Hempfield, was killed when a utility pole fell on him after, investigators said, the truck he was riding snagged a guy wire and pulled the pole down. Click photo for larger image.

Matthew Goldsmith, 28, of Hempfield, was pronounced dead around 10 a.m. at Walnut and Spruce streets near the library.

Castle Shannon Police Chief Harold Lane said he believed Mr. Goldsmith died instantly.

Mr. Goldsmith was standing on a platform at the rear of the garbage truck near the hopper when, investigators believe, the truck snagged a guy wire on the utility pole at the intersection as it turned right from Walnut onto Spruce.

"He heard a crack. He saw the pole hit the side of the truck," Chief Lane said of the driver.

The pull of the truck snapped the pole, which weighs between 400 and 500 pounds, and it fell on Mr. Goldsmith. Investigators do not know whether Mr. Goldsmith was still on the truck or had tried to jump out of the way when he was struck.

Michael Assenti Jr., 24, was driving the truck, which is owned by Green Ridge Waste Services of Scottdale, Westmoreland County. The company did not return a call seeking comment.

Mr. Assenti was taken for alcohol and blood testing at St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon as is routine procedure. Chief Lane said there was no indication that the driver was impaired.

A resident, Linda Mersing, 54, said the driver was "hysterical" shortly after the accident.

An autopsy on Mr. Goldsmith was planned for today.

Some residents told police they believed the utility pole, which is owned by Duquesne Light Co., had been leaning recently.

Joe Balaban, a Duquesne Light spokesman, said at least two guy wires from his company and Verizon -- and perhaps a third -- were attached to the pole.

Mr. Balaban did not know the pole's age but said it had been inspected within the past three to five years and found to be fine. Neither he nor Chief Lane reported receiving any complaints recently about the pole leaning.