PUTNAM, Conn. (AP) – A 24-year-old man died after a weight fell on his neck during a workout at a local gym Monday, police said.
Joshua Peterson of Putnam was attempting to lift free weight equipment around 11:30 a.m. at Midtown Fitness, police said Tuesday.
He was taken to Day Kimball Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Tuesday that his cause of death was compression asphyxiation, meaning that he was unable to breathe because his airway was compressed.
Police and the medical examiner have ruled the death accidental.
Mike Bogdanski, the fitness center’s manager, said Peterson worked out regularly at the gym.
He would not discuss specifics, but said gym employees responded to help Peterson and called 911 as soon as the incident occurred.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all of his family and friends,” Bogdanski said Tuesday.
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