A farm worker was crushed to death by machinery at a Wonderful Company orchard, prompting the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health to open an investigation into the incident.
Cal/OSHA received a report that an employee at Los Hills was crushed between stationary equipment and a mobile cart Monday morning, according to an emailed statement from the state agency. The employee died at 7:30 a.m., Cal/OSHA said.
The agency declined to release further information about the death, citing that its investigation is ongoing.
In an emailed statement, Wonderful Company said “a contract employee was tragically killed in an accident related to almond harvesting at one of our orchards in western Kern County.”
“We are deeply saddened by this terrible loss and are providing support to his family as well as our employees,” the statement said.
The company said it is conducting its own investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the United Farm Workers said they were aware of a worker “who was crushed to death while harvesting almonds.”
“Witnesses and family are struggling,” the post said.
