ANKENY, Iowa —A 22-year-old man died after a 315 pounds barbell slipped from his hold and crushed his neck in a gym on Monday.
Kyle Thomson was an avid weight lifter. He was working out at Elite Edge Transformation Center in Ankeny, about 10 miles north of Des Moines.
Center spokesman Mark Yontz said on Thursday that there were spotters watching Thomson on the bench.
Ankeny Fire Chief James Clack said the barbell fell on Thomson’s neck. The ambulance took Thomson to a Des Moines hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Thomson’s former football coach Greg Schoon at East High School said he knew Thomson well.“He was a big kid.”
He said. “That’s weight I know he has handled before, so he probably didn’t have a second thought, or ‘I have done it before. I will do it again. I’ll be safe,’ but accidents happen, unfortunately.”
Iowa State University spokeswoman Annette Hacker said Thomson was a student there.