A central Ohio man who was a replacement worker at AK Steel in Middletown died after he was struck by a piece of equipment.

Curtis Johnson, 54, of Newark, died Thursday night after being struck by a large coal cart, the Montgomery County coroner?s office said.

Johnson was pronounced dead about 7:30 p.m. as he was being taken by helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Middletown fire Captain Tom Snively said.

Johnson and about 1,500 others began working at the plant after AK Steel?s union employees were locked out more than two months ago in a contract dispute.

The company bought classified advertisements in several Ohio newspapers, including The Dispatch, seeking millwrights, electricians, pipefitters, welders and others to keep the plant running.

Johnson was a contract employee with Strom Engineering of Minnetonka, Minn., AK Steel said. On its Web site, Strom says it provides services such as "strike management."

AK Steel locked out workers after the previous labor contract expired Feb. 28. Disagreements over health care, worker duties and pensions stood in the way of a new deal with workers at the Middletown plant, about 100 miles southwest of Columbus.

The coroner said Johnson?s death was accidental. AK Steel called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to help determine how the accident happened, company spokesman Alan McCoy said. OSHA sent a representative to the plant yesterday, McCoy said.

"Last night and into today, our entire organization is grieving and we have made counseling services available to our employees," he said.

This week, AK Steel said it reached a tentative agreement with about 200 workers at its operation in Zanesville.

In 1999, workers were locked out of AK Steel?s Mansfield plant, fueling a standoff that lasted more than three years.

paul.wilson@dispatch.com?