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Central painter dies in fall on job

SALEM — A 56-year-old Central man died Monday after falling more than 20 feet from a scaffold on a construction site, according to Oconee County coroner Karl Addis.

Addis identified the man as Jerry Wayne Kelly of Lay Bridge Road, a self-employed painter who owned a painting business.

Addis said the man was a subcontractor working at a home construction site at 156 Blue Water Lane in Salem, near the Oconee/Pickens county line.

A 911 call was made at 1:31 p.m. to report a man had fallen off a scaffold. An investigation revealed Kelly was painting when he fell from a ladder leaning against a wall on top of a scaffold. Addis said Kelly then fell down a stairwell to the main floor level of the two-story home, a distance estimated at approximately 22-24 feet.

Kelly was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy, which was set for Tuesday, was scheduled to determine whethere a medical event may have contributed to Kelly’s death. Addis said the man had a pre-existing heart condition.