Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119978070 - Dolores Hernandez Flc

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on August 29, 1999, an employee sustained a fatal crushing injury to his head. This incident occurred on the Sullivan Ranch located in Cantua Creek, California. Employees were harvesting tomatoes with a Johnson Harvester. Employee #1, along with two other employees, was a sorter on the harvester. A tractor, pulling a bulk trailer, traveled along side the harvester (approximately 18 ft away on the right side). According to the employer, the vehicles traveled a maximum speed of 2 miles per hour. A conveyor transported the harvested tomatoes to the bulk trailer. The last time Employee #1 was seen alive was when he got off the harvester to go to a portable restroom. The restroom was approximately 20 ft away from where he got off the harvester. Employee #1 was not seen again until he was found lying fatally injured in the field. There were no witnesses to how the injury occurred, but it appears that after he left the restroom, he ran to catch up with the harvester and in doing so, he attempted to pass between the tractor and the attached trailer and tripped over the hitch, fell and subsequently was run over by the trailer. However, he was not discovered until the harvester completed the run to the end of the field, turned around and returned to the end of the field where Employee #1 got off the harvester to go to the restroom. Here the operator made a u-turn and, as he traveled west, he noticed Employee #1 lying in the field. He was found approximately 200 ft away from the restroom to which he reportedly walked.

Keywords: HEAD, AGRICULTURE, HARVESTER, CRUSHED, TRIPPED, RUN OVER, MOTOR VEHICLE