A 19-year-old California sanitation worker was killed in a horrific accident after being pulled into a meat grinder while cleaning it at a frozen burrito factory.
The teen, whose name has not yet been released, was part of the overnight cleaning crew at Tina's Burritos in Vernon, a well-known food processing facility, the New York Post reported. According to the Vernon Police Department, the machine was unexpectedly activated around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday as the worker was performing routine sanitation duties.
Witnesses reported hearing him cry out for help as coworkers frantically tried but failed to shut off the grinder.
Emergency responders arrived shortly after but were unable to save the young man, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities spent more than 45 minutes dismantling the machine to recover his remains. Police said they do not suspect foul play.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has launched an investigation into the incident, aiming to determine whether proper safety procedures were in place and what may have caused the equipment to turn on during cleaning.
The tragedy has drawn comparisons to a 2019 fatal accident in Pennsylvania, where a 35-year-old factory worker died after falling or being pulled into a similar meat grinder while standing on a ladder.
Experts say meat processing facilities must follow strict lockout/tagout procedures designed to prevent machines from activating during maintenance or cleaning. It remains unclear whether such protocols were followed at Tina's Burritos on the night of the teen's death.
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