Worker dies in crane accident at Laguna Woods Village
Aug. 8, 2016
Updated 9:32 p.m.
A cherry picker tipped over, killing a man in his 30s on Monday in Laguna Woods Village, authorities said. JENNIFER KARMARKAR, STAFF
By LAUREN WILLIAMS / STAFF WRITER
LAGUNA WOODS, CA – A maintenance worker in a cherry picker was killed after the crane tipped over Monday morning in Laguna Woods Village, authorities said.
Rodolfo Velazco, 32, of Lake Elsinore, was killed at about 11:10 a.m. while working at Gate 8 of Laguna Woods Village on Santa Maria Avenue, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz and Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Mark Stichter.
When paramedics arrived, CPR was already being administered, Kurtz said. Velazco was transported to a Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to the coroner’s office.
Sheriff’s deputies took a death report, but the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety will be the lead agency investigating, Stichter said.
It is unclear the nature of the work Velazco was performing when he died.
The complex’s Chief Executive Brad Hudson called the incident “a tragic accident” in an email sent to Laguna Woods Village residents.
“I ask for your thoughts and prayers for our (Village Management Services) employee and his family,” Hudson wrote.