Emergency personnel respond to the scene of an incident at scrap metal dealer Joe Krentzman & Son Inc., 311 Wall St., in Hollidaysburg on Friday afternoon. Courtesy photo

A Hollidaysburg scrapyard employee died Friday afternoon in an accident involving a dump trailer rig, according to officials.

Gerald Dively of Lilly, 53, died from crushing when the trailer of his rig rolled onto the cab of the tractor he was operating at Joe Krentzman & Son Inc., Blair County Coroner Ray Benton stated in a news release.

The accident occurred when the load on the dump trailer shifted, the trailer rolled to the side, the dumping mechanism failed and the trailer came down onto the roof of the cab, according to Hollidaysburg police Det. Jeff Friday.

When it happened, the cab and trailer were in a “jackknife position,” with the trailer still heavily loaded, according to an individual who spoke to the Mirror outside the gates of the scrapyard.

The 911 dispatch call at 2:12 p.m. was for a tractor-trailer rollover with entrapment.

An autopsy will be performed Monday morning at Mount Nittany Medical Center, according to the news release.

The incident remains under investigation, according to Friday.

The scrapyard is located on Wall Street, next to the McLanahan Corp. complex, in the Gaysport section of the borough.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.