A 54-year-old man was killed yesterday when a forklift that he was working on pinned him against a truck at a business in Iwilei.

The man was identified by family members at the scene as Stephen Lee.

Lee turned 54 yesterday, according to his brother, who did not want to give his name.

Lee was a mechanic for Siu's Electric Corp. for the past six years, his brother said.

Lee and another man were repairing a forklift shortly before 4 p.m. when it suddenly lurched and pinned Lee against a stationary truck, said police Maj. William Chur, commander of the Kalihi substation. The incident occurred in an alley between two warehouses at 500 Alakawa St.

The victim died at the scene, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Emergency Services Department. Police classified the case as an unattended death.

"At this point we don't know what happened, exactly why it happened, but it's being treated as an industrial accident," Chur said.

At about 6 p.m., some of Lee's family members began to gather at the scene, but they were kept behind yellow crime scene tape as police and the medical examiner conducted their investigation. As the van carrying Lee's body was about to leave, family members were allowed to view his body.

One of his sisters said Lee was turning his life around and was trying to buy a house.