Man Dies in Grinding Machine
A 31-year-old man died Monday after losing his legs and an arm in a large grinding machine that was turned on while he was inside cleaning it, authorities said.
Juan Mendez went into cardiac arrest while 10 firefighters struggled for 30 minutes to remove him from the machine, which is used to grind plastics at Marketing Associates, 1818 Orangethorpe Park, said Steve Magliocco, a spokesman for the Anaheim Fire Department.
Mendez was revived after being flown to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange. His legs and his right arm were damaged so badly that they had to be amputated, Magliocco said.
Mendez had apparently disconnected a circuit breaker to the machine and climbed inside to clean it, but someone flipped the breaker switch on, Magliocco said.
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