Roofing Company Worker Killed in Forklift Accident

BURBANK — A 26-year-old North Hollywood man died when he was crushed between the cab and operating columns of a forklift he was unloading at a roofing company in the 800 block of South Flower Street, authorities said Saturday.

When Hermenegildo Sanchez was killed Friday at GES Roofing Inc., he apparently was standing with one foot on a trash bin and the other on a cross beam between the columns as he threw trash from a pallet on the forklift into the bin, said Police Lt. Jay Ferrand.

Investigators believe Sanchez lost his balance and fell feet-first between the cab and the columns, Ferrand said. As he fell, Sanchez’s boot struck the shift lever on the control panel that moves the operating columns backward, crushing his upper body.

Sanchez was alone in the building at the time of the accident, Ferrand said, which could have occurred any time between 2:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., when his body was found.

The body was discovered by Martin Munoz, a worker at United Bakery Inc., a neighboring business on South Flower Street, who noticed a gate was unlocked and went over to see why, Ferrand said.

Munoz saw Sanchez trapped in the forklift, Ferrand said. “He went over and checked him, but he knew he was dead,” he said, adding that Munoz immediately called police.

Sanchez was pronounced dead at the scene, Ferrand said.

Investigators from Cal/OSHA and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office were also called to the scene of the accident on Friday night.

“It is common for us to look at industrial fatalities to see if manslaughter has occurred or if an employer has violated a labor code that results in the death or injury of an employee,” William Slider, a senior investigator in the Environmental Crimes/OSHA Division of the district attorney’s office, said Saturday.

Once he reviews reports from the coroner, police and Cal/OSHA investigators, Slider said he intends to submit a report to the deputy district attorney who will determine whether there are grounds to file criminal charges.

Cal/OSHA investigator Sylvia Riley and engineer Eliott Oseas conducted an examination of the forklift on Friday night, Slider said. Neither could be reached for comment on Saturday.

Slider, who has spoken with company owner Gary Stewart, said he is unaware of any violations at the family-owned roofing company that has operated in Burbank since 1959.

Stewart, who is out of town for two months, was said to be “beside himself” with grief, said sales manager Tom Kelley, who added that Stewart’s wife died a year ago.

Kelley said Sanchez had been employed by the company for one year.

“We are a family business, and when something happens to one employee we suffer it together,” Kelley said. “This is a terrible tragedy that has happened to a very young man. He was a fine human being and we really respected him.”