Man dies after being ‘buried under hot asphalt’ while trying to fix a dump truck in Mississippi

Police in Mississippi’s capital said a man died Monday when asphalt was poured on him while trying to fix a dump truck.

Darrell Sheriff, 41, was underneath the truck working on a hydraulic line when the back door opened and asphalt fell on him, the Jackson Police Department said in a statement. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade told reporters. that officers found the sheriff, who was a private contractor, “buried under hot asphalt.”

“It appears there was some kind of malfunction with his dump truck,” Wade said, adding that it was a “terrifying situation.”

The incident happened at AJ Materials around 10:30 a.m. Monday on CBS affiliate WJTV. reported.

Wade said people at the scene tried to help the sheriff and “he tried to deal with these injuries, but they were too overwhelming for him to survive.”

The police chief said the incident left witnesses and family members traumatized.

Wade said family members said Sheriff was “a good, hard-working family man who was just trying to make a living.”

The police classified the death as an accident.