Henry Silva, Sr. was clearing brush outside Watsonville, California with a Public Works Crew when he was somehow pulled into the wood chipper he was using and killed on the job. Silva, 61 years old, had worked for the department since 1969. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Co-workers learned quickly about the incident and started showing up at the site in obvious emotional distress. The County sent out a mental health team to help the survivors deal with the emotions of the workplace accident. Lira’s son, Henry Lira, Jr. said that his father very much enjoyed the work he did for the Public Works department and enjoyed spending time with his co-workers.
The County has not yet determined if the accident was caused by a fault in the wood chipper, poor workplace safety standards and practices or human error. An investigation is ongoing. In California, private businesses as well as those run by the state or counties have an obligation to protect their workers from dangerous conditions or machinery.
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