HOLLISTER, CALIFORNIA — A worker at the John Smith Road Landfill in Hollister was killed Thursday when a semi-truck backed over him, authorities said.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office identified the worker as Alfredo Prado Canella, 65, of Hollister.
The collision was reported at 8 a.m. at the landfill at 2650 John Smith Road. The Sheriff’s Office and the Hollister-Gilroy California Highway Patrol area office responded to the scene.
Canella was directing traffic on the premises when he was hit by vehicle, according to Frank Polizzi, a spokesman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal-OSHA, which is investigating the collision. The CHP described the vehicle as a semi-truck that was hauling refuse.
The CHP reported that Canella suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A check of a federal database did not turn up other similar incidents at the landfill, Polizzi said.
There is no timetable for Cal-OSHA to complete its investigation, but they typically take two to three months, Polizzi said.
Back-over deaths are fairly common. This worker did not know what he was doing, as traffic workers must be very cognizant of all the traffic around them- not this poor fellow. RIP.