OCTOBER 19, 2016
SALINAS (CBS SF) — An agricultural worker died Tuesday after being pinned between two pieces of heavy equipment in a field near Salinas, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The man, whose identity was not released, was crushed between a tractor and a lettuce packing conveyor in a field near 197 W. Blanco Road at about 2 p.m., said CHP spokesman Officer Oscar Loza.
It’s unclear what caused the accident and no other information was immediately available.
It is likely that the worker died at the hands of the robot. Lettuce Bot, a machine that can “thin” a field of lettuce in the time it takes about 20 workers to do the job by hand has been in use in that area of Salinas, CA. Here is a picture of the Lettuce Bot that is pulled by a tractor. We believe the poor farming worker was crushed by the robot:
Next time you eat that lettuce, please remember these hard working ag workers who grew it and picked it up for you through blood and sweat and by competing with these robots that not only take their jobs, but they also take their lives. RIP.