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Incident · Injury

Maintenance tech Wanda Holbrook killed when assembly-line robotics activated during service, Ionia MI (2015)

In July 2015 maintenance technician Wanda Holbrook was killed at the Ventra Ionia Main auto-parts plant in Ionia, Michigan when robotics in an adjacent cell unexpectedly entered her work area and crushed her head during routine maintenance. Her widower's wrongful-death suit named the equipment makers, including FANUC and integrator Prodomax.

Occurred 2015-07-07 · FANUC M-20iD at Worldwide (1M+ installed) · FANUC Corporation · Worldwide (1M+ installed) · Industrial Robots · Investigated by OSHA

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Track Maintenance tech Wanda Holbrook killed when assembly-line robotics activated during service, Ionia MI (2015)

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Sources (2)

  1. Courthouse News · https://www.courthousenews.com/work-robot-blamed-michigan-womans-death/
  2. https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.html

Common questions

What happened in Maintenance tech Wanda Holbrook killed when assembly-line robotics activated during service, Ionia MI (2015)?
In July 2015 maintenance technician Wanda Holbrook was killed at the Ventra Ionia Main auto-parts plant in Ionia, Michigan when robotics in an adjacent cell unexpectedly entered her work area and crushed her head during routine maintenance. Her widower's wrongful-death suit named the equipment makers, including FANUC and integrator Prodomax.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on July 7, 2015 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
What robot was involved in Maintenance tech Wanda Holbrook killed when assembly-line robotics activated during service, Ionia MI (2015)?
FANUC M-20iD by FANUC Corporation is the recorded robot involved in this incident at Worldwide (1M+ installed).
Has anyone responded to Maintenance tech Wanda Holbrook killed when assembly-line robotics activated during service, Ionia MI (2015)?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Maintenance tech Wanda Holbrook killed when assembly-line robotics activated during service, Ionia MI (2015)?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-14

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-14

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Maintenance tech Wanda Holbrook killed when assembly-line robotics activated during service, Ionia MI (2015).

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Canonical ID e8342859-7fa4-47ed-97e1-fd085ccf6fc4