Thursday, January 10, 2019

Two men (Arnold Torres, 66 and Angel Barajas, 31) were crushed to death after being caught under an almond tree nut shaker at Vista Verde farms in Cantua Creek in Fresno County, CA



Preliminary investigative efforts suggest that the two victims identified as Arnold Torres, 66, and Angel Barajas, 31, were trapped and crushed underneath the arm of an almond shaker after the machine experienced a malfunction.

Monday, January 07, 2019

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) --

As investigators look into what led up to the death of two workers at a Fresno County farm, Sheriff's deputies are stressing how incidents like this can be avoided.

"Everybody makes mistakes, you just want to make sure you're following all the proper protocols that should help eliminate the things that could get you injured or killed," said Lieutenant Frances Devins.


it was just before 11:30 a.m. on Saturday when sheriff's deputies were called to Vista Verde farms and Stanislaus and Harlan, to find two workers killed after being trapped under the arm of an almond shaker.


"The machine shaker arms weren't functioning properly and one of the workers had gone under the machine to fix the hoses for the hydraulic lines, and the arms fell down and crushed them," Lieutenant Devins said.

Family members have identified one of the victims as 66-year-old Arnold Torres.  The other victim is Angel Barajas, 31.


His daughter Jessica says the Avenal native was a well-known foreman with more than 50 years experience in the ag industry. She's still trying to process how something like this could have happened.

"My dad loved everyone unconditionally. He would help anyone that would ask him," Jessica said on the phone. "He knew the steps to take he always took precaution he was always careful."

Cal Osha is handling the investigation to see if any safety violations led to the accident.



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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- 

Two men were killed after being caught under a tree nut shaker at a ranch in Cantua Creek in Fresno County.

Fresno County Fire responded to the incident just around 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, where they found a 66-year-old man and a 31-year-old man had been crushed while trying to make a repair on the machine.

According to deputies, the workers were trying to disconnect hydraulic hoses under the shaker when the arm fell.

Both men were pronounced dead when paramedics arrived.




#Derrickincident - Firefighters on scene with @FresnoSheriff for an industrial accident resulting in 2 fatalities - Derrick & Stanislaus. pic.twitter.com/XJt7kdawds— CALFIRE/FresnoCoFire (@FresnoCoFire) January 5, 2019