The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into Saturday’s drowning of a Villa Park employee of a company hired to keep geese away from a condominium complex.
A condominium association for a complex in the 9300 block of Bay Colony Drive near Des Plaines uses a method of bringing swans in to ward off the geese.
Anthony Hensley, 37, went to check on the swan Saturday morning in a kayak, but the bird apparently attacked him, causing him to fall out of his kayak. The swan did not stop attacking him, ultimately causing him to drown.
OSHA is looking into whether the swan went after him and ultimately caused the drowning, according to the Daily Herald.
Scott Allen, spokesman for OSHA, told the Daily Herald Hensley’s death is considered a work-related fatality. Allen said a main piece of the investigation is whether Hensley was wearing a life jacket.
Hensley, a father of two, did not have life insurance, and donations are being collected for his family. Any donations can be made to the Anthony Hensley Memorial Children's Fund, C/O Steurle Funeral Home at 350 S. Ardmore Ave., in Villa Park, IL 60181.
