A construction worker was killed yesterday when he was pinned by a piece of equipment he was operating while he was trying to fix it on the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Fayette County.

Gilbert Eutsey, 58, of Dawson, Fayette County, was pronounced dead at 3:09 p.m., said county Coroner Dr. Phillip E. Reilly. Joe Agnello, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said Mr. Eutsey was employed by Mashuda Corp. of Cranberry.

The company is the general contractor building a 1.83-mile section of the unfinished expressway between Brownsville and Uniontown in Fayette County, Mr. Agnello said. Mr. Eutsey was killed between 1 and 1:30 p.m. after a clog jammed the grinding wheel of the large wood-chipping machine he was operating on the highway construction site in Luzerne, near Brownsville, Mr. Agnello said.

When chips stopped flowing out of the machine's chute, Mr. Eutsey idled but did not stop its engine and attempted to clear the clog, Mr. Agnello said. Investigators believe Mr. Eutsey may have inadvertently tripped a lever that operates the chute that spits out chipped wood when he leaned into the huge industrial machine's collection bin, Dr. Reilly said.

The heavy chute moved and pinned Mr. Eutsey against the steel wall of the machine, causing him to asphyxiate, Dr. Reilly said. Mr. Eutsey had been working alone, Dr. Reilly said, and co-workers discovered his body when they returned to that part of the highway site.

Dr. Reilly said he has ruled Mr. Eutsey's death an accident but may schedule an inquest to review its circumstances. State police and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating.