Elephant Caretaker Crushed by an Elephant, The Animal Sanctuary Will Not Be Charged

A caretaker of an elephant sanctuary died in September last year after apparently being stepped on. The owners of an elephant sanctuary where a caretaker died after apparently being stepped on will not be cited by federal workplace safety regulators.

The caretaker, Dr. James Laurita, was found dead on Sept. 9, 2014 with a crushed chest. Police said Laurita had fallen in an elephant cage and one of the elephants had accidently stepped on his chest. Since his death, the elephants have been transferred to a sanctuary in Oklahoma.

Hope Elephants was a nonprofit sanctuary located in Hope, Maine, a small town of 1,500 people located 90 miles northeast of Portland.

On March 4, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) wrote a letter to Hope Elephants, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation and conservation of elephant.

In the letter, the agency of the United States Department of Labor recommended that workers should not be in the same unrestricted space as elephants except in rare circumstances. On Friday, the letter was given to The Associated Press.

OSHA asked the board to notify it of its progress of protecting its workers if and when elephants are brought back to the facility. In response, the board has said it does not intent on having the elephants or any other elephants at the sanctuary in the future.

Below is a video with Dr. James (Jim) Laurita as he shares his love for the elephants.