A 19-year-old sanitation worker was killed Sunday night when he fell into a meat grinder at a food processing facility in Vernon, according to city officials. The fatal accident happened at approximately 9:30 p.m. at Tina's Burritos, located in the 2600 block of Vernon Avenue.
The young man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was employed as part of the sanitation crew at the facility. According to police statements, fellow employees heard the worker crying out for assistance and attempted to shut down the machinery but were unsuccessful in doing so. When police arrived at the scene, the worker had already died from him injuries.
A spokesperson for the city in an email to NTD News characterized the incident as an industrial accident, stating there was no evidence of foul play and that the death appears to be accidental. The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration was scheduled to conduct an investigation at the facility Monday.
"Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and coworkers affected by this tragedy. We can share additional information as it becomes available and appropriate," the city of Vernon said in an email sent to NTD News.
Workplace Safety, as reflected in national workplace safety statistics, has been steady or shown small signs of improvement in recent years.
According to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, a worker died every 99 minutes from a work-related injury in 2023, compared to 96 minutes in 2022.
Manufacturing Among Most Dangerous Industries
According to Forbes.com contributor Bryan Robinson, citing research from DeMayo Law Group, manufacturing ranks as the eighth most dangerous U.S. career heading into 2025.The study analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that 404 fatalities were recorded in the manufacturing industry, which has a fatal injury rate of 2.6 per 100,000 workers.
The study identified agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting as the most dangerous sector, with a fatal injury rate of 18.6 per 100,000 workers and 417 fatalities. Transportation and warehousing ranked second with 1,053 fatalities and a fatal injury rate of 14.1 per 100,000 workers. Construction placed third with 1,069 worker deaths and a fatal injury rate of 9.6 per 100,000 workers.