Child Dies in Segerstrom Farm Accident
A 9-year-old member of Orange County’s famous Segerstrom family, which built its farming base into one of the area’s most powerful businesses, was crushed to death Tuesday when she fell off a crop harvester at a family bean field, authorities said.
Corinne Segerstrom, a great-granddaughter of the late company founder C. J. Segerstrom, died at the scene at 6:03 p.m.
As members of the Segerstrom family gathered at the blocklong field to console one another, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna provided a family-authorized account, saying the girl had been riding with an unnamed relative as a passenger on the piece of machinery.
“She fell off and was run over by the harvester,” Luna said, adding that police do not expect to cite farm operators for any safety violations. “It’s just an accident.”
The victim was the daughter of Theodore Segerstrom, who is active in the family’s extensive business and agricultural interests. Police did not release other information about her.
The Segerstroms are best known in Southern California as the builders and owners of South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. But the family helped stake its business claim in the area in the early 1900s through its vast agricultural holdings.
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