A Smitty’s Towing driver has died from injuries he received in an accident Friday at the Santa Maria facility and a state agency is investigating the incident.
Sergio Orozco, 43, was critically injured Friday afternoon while unloading a vehicle when he became trapped and was crushed between the winch cable and the side of the vehicle at the firm’s yard in the 1200 block of West Betteravia Road.
A Santa Maria Fire Department official called the incident “a freak accident.”
A CalStar medical helicopter flew the man to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where he later died.
“We do not yet know exactly what happened,” a Smitty’s representative said in a statement.
“All we know at this time is that we have lost a member of the Smitty’s family. Sergio Orozco was a longtime Smitty’s employee. He was a great family man and trusted employee.
“Our focus now is on supporting the Orozco family and to initiate a full investigation of the incident,” the statement added.
The California Occupational Safety & Health Administration will investigate the accident, said Paola Laverde from Division of Industrial Relations.
“They’ll do a very thorough investigation and then they will issue a report,” she said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.