Zoo worker killed by golf cart
Long-time employee was working on the vehicle when it crushed him
THE PHILADELPHIA Zoo's lone mechanic was killed in the zoo's garage yesterday when he was crushed by a golf cart that fell on top of him as he was repairing it, according to police and the man's co-workers.
When Jim Borger, 57, a married father of three, didn't show up to a regularly scheduled meeting at 10 a.m. yesterday, his supervisor sent another employee to find him, according to a zoo co-worker who asked not to be identified.
Borger was found under the golf cart in the garage at 11:08 a.m., police said. He was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 11:44 a.m. The cause of his death was listed as accidental, according to police.
"Oh my God, he was just such a beautiful person, I'm so upset," his co-worker said. "It was just a blessing to have him on the grounds, just to know he was there."
Zoo spokeswoman Dana Lombardo said that Borger, a mechanic, was working on one of the carts in the zoo's fleet when the accident occurred. The zoo's garage is not in a public area and Lombardo said she was unsure whether the accident was witnessed by other employees.
Lombardo did not know how the golf cart fell on Borger but said zoo officials are investigating the specifics.
Borger had worked for the zoo for 14 years, Lombardo said, and he was a loved and respected employee.
"This is a very sad day for us and, of course, for his family," she said. "Our heart goes out to them."
When contacted yesterday, Borger's family politely declined to comment.
But, as his co-workers tried to come to grips with what happened, they also wondered if it could have been prevented.
His co-worker who asked to remain anonymous said the zoo's maintenance department, which used to employ 24 men, has been cut down to 10 - and four of those workers are out with injuries.
The zoo employee said that Borger was working alone in the secluded garage, which is on a back road near gate H, and that he did not have a hydraulic lift for the vehicles so he was using jacks and drive-up lifts to get under the carts.
"If there was a buddy system or if more people were on staff, somebody could have helped him," his co-worker said. "Half the time he didn't have the tools and equipment he needed to work with, but he did his best."
Borger's co-worker said he was the proud father of three children - two girls and a boy - and was "a real family man."
"He was just a wonderful person, he always had a smile on his face," his colleague said. "To lose somebody like that, you don't want to lose anybody on your job, but to lose somebody like that like this, it's just devastating."