Abstract: At approximately 3:30 p.m. on November 6, 2000, Employee #1, a laborer for Don Beeman Farms, was using a John Deere 9610 combine with a corn harvesting head to harvest feed corn. The cornfield had many downed stalks, which clogged up the harvesting head every 5 to 10 minutes; when that happened, Employee #1 would use a pitchfork to clean off the head while the harvester continued to run. He was standing between the gatherer points, cleaning the harvesting head, when he became caught in the gatherer chain and was pulled up through the deck plates, an opening of less than 18 in. His leg was smashed and the lower portion became caught and was torn off by the stalk rolls under the deck plates. Employee #1 received first aid from the local fire department, paramedics, and life flight crew while the fire department worked for over an hour using the Jaws of Life to extract him from the combine's corn harvesting head. He was flown by Life Flight to Sutter Roseville Medical Center in Roseville, CA, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.