Firm Won’t Be Charged in Death at Manure Pit
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The Merced County district attorney’s office announced it will not prosecute the employers of a Patterson man who died after he was overcome by fumes from a manure pit.
There’s not enough evidence to win a conviction, and a similar case recently resulted in the acquittal of the employer, said Dist. Atty. Gordon Spencer.
Sergio Ortiz died Aug. 27, 2002, while he was trying to install a gate inside a dairy pipe used to carry manure away from a barn. Ortiz worked for Turlock Irrigation Construction, which has been fined $116,500 by Cal-OSHA. The company is appealing the fine.
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