Kentucky Distillery Employee Dies After Falling from Facility Walkway

January 17, 2019

Authorities say a distillery employee in Kentucky died after falling from a suspended walkway at the facility.

The Daviess County coroner’s office said Tuesday that an autopsy revealed 44-year-old Dennis Layman of Owensboro died of blunt force trauma after falling at Glenmore Distillery in Owensboro. An autopsy was done since the death was work-related.

Operations at the Sazerac-owned facility were suspended after the employee’s death Monday pending an investigation.

State Labor Cabinet spokeswoman Susan West says state investigators were dispatched to the distillery but she declined further comment, saying the investigation is continuing.

West says there were no distillery work-related deaths reported in Kentucky in 2018.

Sazerac spokeswoman Amy Preske says Layman had worked at the distillery since 2017. She says the Glenmore facility is primarily a bottling operation for Sazerac spirits.