By Khalida Sarwari
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health are investigating the death of a 61-year-old Santa Cruz County maintenance worker this morning.
The man, whose name has not yet been released, had been part of a Public Works Department crew doing road maintenance and tree work on Whiting Road near Paulsen Road in Watsonville, the sheriff’s office said.
At about 9:10 a.m., the man was feeding trim wood into a wood chipper at a work site on Whiting Road and somehow got caught in the chipper, Cal/OSHA spokeswoman Krisann Chasarik said.
He was pronounced dead at the work site.
Chasarik said Cal/OSHA is investigating how he was pulled into the chipper, but said that a preliminary investigation indicates the death was accidental.
He had worked for the county since 1969.
The county’s mental health crisis team is providing support to employees who were present when the accident happened.