The accident investigation below was opened on Friday, January 13th 2017 by OSHA representitives in Desert Center, CA which had occured previously at Sungo Farms. A 32 year old man working as a Laborer was killed on the job when the
Accident Date2017-01-13
Accident DegreeFatality
NarrativeAt 1:15 p.m. on January 13, 2017, Employee #1 was standing inside a pond with two other employees sorting fish to be taken to another pond. There was a John Deere Backhoe Loader 710J parked on an uneven embankment next to the employees in the pond. Another employee was moving the bucket to lift fish out and transfer them to a parked tractor adjacent to the backhoe. The tractor had a tank full of water attach to it where the fish are dumped. The employee operating the bucket of the backhoe felt the backhoe starting to tip towards the pond. The bucket came down, hit Employee #1 on the head and pinned him under the water. The three employees pulled Employee #1 out of the water. Coworkers attempted to perform CPR until paramedics arrive. When the paramedics arrived they continued CPR and Employee #1 was pronounced dead at 12:36pm. The pond was approximately 20 feet in diameter and approximately 2 ? feet deep. After the tip over, the backhoe was laying on its left side, with the bucket laying inside the pond approximately 116 inches from the edge of the pond. There were skid marks on the dirt where the stabilizer legs slid approximately 76 inches from its original resting point. There were skids marks from the rear tire. Also, there was noticeable soil erosion surrounding the pond. The ground was made of sandy dirt and the ground near the pond appeared damp from recent rains.