ST. GEORGE – A 23-year-old man working at Dixie Metal Recycling, 1554 E. 4330 South Circle, in the Fort Pierce Industrial Complex in St. George was transported to the hospital Monday after getting his leg caught in the cardboard baling machine he was operating at the time.
Facility Supervisor Jay Johnson said he was notified about the accident by a line worker who said the man was baling cardboard in an industrial baler when the accident occurred around 11:45 a.m.
The man was using one leg to push more cardboard in, in violation of safety protocols, and misjudged the timing of the ram that crushes the cardboard, Johnson said.
“If he had been all the way in,” Johnson said, “the ram would not have engaged. Safety features would have kicked in immediately.”
The man was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George with a fractured leg, St. George Police Capt. Tyler Talbot said, adding that the man was awake but in a lot of pain.
Tracy Sandoval, a worker at the plant, was one of the first on the scene.
“He thought he could beat the ram,” Sandoval said. “His leg was caught at the shin line. It’s broken, but I guess it could have been worse.”
This report is based on preliminary information provided by those at the scene and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
A man was transported to the hospital after getting his leg caught in a machine at Dixie Metal Recycling located at 1554 E. 4330 South Circle, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
A man was transported to the hospital after getting his leg caught in a machine at Dixie Metal Recycling located at 1554 E. 4330 South Circle, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Inside the cardboard baler that injured a worker, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Jay Johnson, shift supervisor at Dixie Metal Recycling, stands by the cardboard baler that injured a worker, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
A man was transported to the hospital after getting his leg caught in a machine at Dixie Metal Recycling located at 1554 E. 4330 South Circle, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Paramedics stabilize a man who had his leg caught in a cardboard baler at Dixie Metal Recycling, St. George, Utah, March 2, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Related posts
- Industrial accident at mine claims one life
- ‘Maneating’ mixer challenges EMTs, industrial accident
- Industrial accident leaves man’s head pinned by forklift
Email: rwayman@stgnews.com
Twitter: @NewsWayman
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.
Don’t try to beat the ram.
a better idea would of been to not put leg in crusher. what if this would of been a cab crushing machine?
OMG.! a cab crushing machine what has this society come to.? What will Groanbaby and Lunchnut complain about now.!
Ouch.
And that’s why one shouldn’t put body parts in the bailer…lesson learned. Hope your leg heals.
I wasn’t aware the morgue was dropping off unused body parts