Contractor killed by falling materials on North Carolina jobsite

The owner of a construction business who also served as the mayor of his small North Carolina town was killed in a jobsite accident last week.

According to a report from the Asheville Citizen-Times, Ron DeSimone, owner of Ron DeSimone Contracting LLC, was killed Friday when building materials fell on top of him in Maggie Valley.

WLOS TV reports a stack of plywood fell from the roof above DeSimone, whose company was building a garage onto the home of a friend.

DeSimone started his business in 2002 and had served as mayor of the town since 2011.

Speaking to the Citizen-Times, colleagues remembered him as “a hard-working mayor,” who “stayed engaged,” working to boost tourism in the town and bring broadband internet service to citizens in remote areas.