Welding Shop Owner Charged in Worker’s Death
The owner of a Sylmar welding shop was charged Tuesday in the death of an employee who was decapitated when he heated a metal tire rim, causing an explosion of the fully inflated tire left attached, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said.
In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Municipal Court, Juvenal Mena, 53, of Pacoima was charged with eight misdemeanor counts of violating state labor laws, including a regulation requiring that a tire must be removed from a rim or wheel before repairs are made. Mena could face a maximum penalty of four years in jail and $80,000 in fines if convicted.
The accident occurred Aug. 12 when Ramon Carranza, 45, of Pacoima applied his arc-welder to a rim, causing the tire to expand and explode with such force that the rim hurtled through the air, severing his left hand and decapitating him.
Mena denied that account Tuesday, saying he had been away from the shop and returned seconds before the accident.
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