Authorities have identified the man killed in a Wednesday afternoon workplace incident at the Toledo, Ohio, Jeep factory as 53-year-old Antonio Gaston.

The Toledo resident was working in Stellantis NV's Toledo Assembly Complex plant that builds Gladiator pickups on Wednesday afternoon when the incident occurred, police said. United Auto Workers officials said Gaston, a father of four who previously worked in Belvidere, Illinois, had been doing his usual work as a material handler, delivering parts to the assembly line for others to assemble on the vehicles.

He became caught on something and was crushed, officials said, though how exactly remained unclear Thursday afternoon.

"We need to have a complete and thorough investigation," said Bruce Baumhower, the president of UAW Local 12, which represents workers at the plant.

Baumhower said he didn't want to go into more detail because there were conflicting reports about what had led up to the fatality. He added that the company, the union, and federal safety investigators were probing it.

Authorities responded to the plant, at 4400 Chrysler Drive in North Toledo, about 1:30 p.m. Police investigators, the local fire department, Lucas County coroner's office investigators, and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officers were all on the scene later that afternoon.

The complex, which employs more than 4,600 people, builds both the Gladiator and the Wrangler SUV. Gladiator production was shut down on Thursday but the Wrangler side of the plant was running as usual following the fatality, said Ann Marie Fortunate, a Stellantis spokesperson. There were counselors at the plant to support employees, she said.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family, friends and coworkers of the Toledo Assembly Complex employee who was involved in a fatal workplace accident yesterday," a Stellantis statement said. "We will continue to work with the authorities to investigate the cause of this accident."

The company declined to provide additional details about the nature of the incident that resulted in Gaston's death.

A GoFundMe set up to support Gaston's family said he left behind his wife and four children. It had raised more than $16,000 by late Thursday afternoon.

Gaston had moved to Toledo after his home plant in Belvidere, Ill., was closed, UAW officials said, and more recently the rest of his family joined him. He had been with the company about a dozen years.

"The memories we all have of 'Tone' are brightened by his permanent smile and joyous nature," wrote Tru Parham, a Jeep union steward, on the fundraiser page. "We work to provide for our families and our fallen brother tragically didn’t make it home to his."

Gladiator production was shut down for much of July and August due to slow sales and for retooling of the plant, but workers had returned to building the pickup at the start of this week. Baumhower said he anticipated that Gladiator production would also pause Friday.

"Everybody I talked to said he was the nicest (guy) they have ever worked with," the union leader said. "That he just lifts your spirits up because he's just, no matter how bad you feel when you walked in the place from maybe a tough night or something, he brings a smile to everybody's face."

Matt Frantzen, the Local 1268 president representing the Belvidere Assembly Plant where Gaston previously was based, said during a rally in that Illinois city on Thursday that Gaston had "followed his job" to Local 12 and Toledo after it was cut in Belvidere.

The Belvidere plant, which most recently built the Jeep Cherokee, was shut down in early 2023. The union is pushing Stellantis to uphold its pledge to reopen the facility, which was the rally's focus.

"(Gaston) was chasing his American dream to stay working, until this place got back up and going," Frantzen said.

"You know, the fight we're doing here, to try and reopen this, to get these people back home — all I thought about last night was, 'This wouldn't have happened, if he was here,'" said the Illinois union official, tearing up.

Kevin Gotinsky, who oversees the UAW's Stellantis department, also weighed in on the tragedy Thursday.

"These tragedies should not take place in our facilities," he said. "They're preventable. Nobody should ever lose their life going to work and not have the opportunity to go back to their families … We need to hold these companies accountable to any health and safety grievances, matters and concerns."

Baumhower said much of the plant's workforce was reeling from the news Thursday, noting there had only been a handful of deaths at Toledo Jeep over his more than three decades leading the union.

"We need to know how this happens, so that nothing like that happens again," he said. "I'm really anxious to see what this full investigation brings, because I'm getting conflicting reports."

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