May 20, 2013
TOWN OF ROCHESTER, Wis. (AP) -- An autopsy shows drowning caused the death of a backhoe operator whose equipment broke through the ice on a Racine County quarry.
Medical Examiner Tom Terry says 62-year-old Charles Nemetz was knocked unconscious when the backhoe toppled into 12 feet of water at Park View Sand and Gravel Monday.
Nemetz was trying to move a crane frozen into the ground when the backhoe broke through. Nemetz was under water for nearly six hours before his body was recovered.
Nemetz worked for Illinois Mining of Lake of the Hills, Illinois for about four years.
His wife, Connie, says her husband was a simple man who loved his job, fishing and traveling. He's also survived by three children, four grandchildren, five siblings and his parents.
A memorial service is scheduled Sunday afternoon at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Menomonee Falls.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
