City Worker Crushed at Landfill

A city worker crushed by a trash truck at a landfill was identified Wednesday as Robert Thomas of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

The 62-year-old refuse driver died Tuesday afternoon at the Lost Hills Landfill at 5300 Lost Hills Road, said Deputy Rick Erickson, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Thomas was “standing next to his truck when the load on a truck next to him shifted and that truck toppled onto him,” Erickson said. Thomas died at the scene.

Cal/OSHA officials have launched an investigation, which could take as long as six weeks, spokesman Rick Rice said.

The truck that overturned at the county-owned landfill was from a private refuse company, Perez Disposal, Rice said.

“Our safety engineers are trying to determine if the truck was turned off when it overturned,” Rice said. “Or if there were any violations of workplace safety and health regulations.”