Man, 40, crushed by SUV

An employee at a North Charleston auto junkyard was crushed to death Tuesday afternoon when a jack slipped and a vehicle fell on him, authorities and the business owner said.

The victim was identified by the business owner as Sam Freeman.

Freeman had worked at Coastal Auto Parts & Salvage at 3201 Meeting Street Road for about two years, owner Jim Smith said.

A homeless man who was picking up trash there about noon told police he heard the car fall, saw Freeman under the vehicle and ran for help, an incident report said.

The report also said that EMS attempted to revive Freeman.

Freeman was trying to pull a transmission from the vehicle, according to the report.

The right side of the Nissan Pathfinder that Freeman was working on had been jacked up, but there were no safety blocks put in place in case the jack gave way, Smith said.

"The policy is to put something under it to catch it," he said. "But he didn't do it."

Freeman, 40, of Mount Pleasant, died at the scene, Charleston County Deputy Coroner Kelly Myers said.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.