A California community is reeling after a horrific workplace accident claimed the life of a young custodian. Authorities say a 19-year-old man tragically died after falling into a meat grinder at Tina’s Burritos factory in Vernon, a city just outside of Los Angeles, on Sunday night.
According to ABC 7, police and fire officials responded to reports of a fatal accident at around 9:30 p.m. Witnesses said the victim was reportedly cleaning the industrial meat grinder when the machine suddenly started running—with him inside it.
Other factory employees said they heard him screaming, but despite rushing to stop the machine, it was already too late. When Los Angeles Fire Department crews arrived, the young man had already been pronounced dead at the scene.
No Foul Play Suspected, But State Officials Launch Separate Investigation
The Vernon Police Department confirmed that no foul play is suspected at this time. However, the exact sequence of events leading up to the fatal incident remains unclear. It’s not known whether the machine was malfunctioning, turned on manually, or triggered automatically during routine cleaning.
Meanwhile, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has stepped in to launch a formal investigation into workplace safety protocols at the burrito factory. Tina’s Burritos—widely known for mass-producing frozen burritos distributed across the country—has not released a public statement.