A devoted father was killed in a horrific workplace accident after getting trapped in an industrial chemical mixer at a plant in Arizona.
Jose Fernando Partida, 57, died a week after the gruesome incident at his job at Gowan Milling in Yuma, on Jan. 4.
Partida was cleaning the inside of the mixer when the machine was accidentally turned on.
A co-worker who was helping clean the mixer was able to escape, but Partida was trapped.
“The sad thing is the time that he was there and that he was begging for help,” Partida’s son Omar told Arizona’s Family.
Power was shut off immediately, but it took about five hours for first responders to get Partida out of the mixer, a spokesperson for Rural Metro Fire told the outlet.
A hazmat team was required for the rescue mission due to exposure to harmful chemicals.
“I was imagining all the pain that he was passed through and all that stuff. I imagine it’s just to be there for five hours and hold all the pain. I don’t think my dad deserved all that,” Omar said.
Partida was hospitalized for a week, unconscious with broken ribs, a broken arm and leg, and bruising all over his body, before he died from his injuries on Jan. 10, Omar said.
“When they called me that he had an accident, I thought it was like a small accident,” the distraught son added.
He paid tribute to his father as a man who was always there to help and was passionate about sports, especially his beloved LA Rams.
“He always was trying to help us and anything that we had the problems, he was there. And he always have an answer for me. Now that he’s not here, it’s like, I don’t know. It’s like, because it was just me, my sister and him,” Omar said.
“He always called me to let me know about soccer and about football,” he added.
Gowan Milling LLC, which provides industrial chemicals to various industries, said it was “deeply saddened” by Partida’s loss.
“We immediately enacted our emergency response protocol upon learning of this employee’s injury, including calling emergency medical professionals and other first responders,” a spokesperson told Arizona’s Family.
“Emergency responders provided medical care to our employee on the scene and transported him to the hospital by ambulance. We also worked closely with first responders to secure the area surrounding the incident,” the spokesperson continued.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our employee, and our thoughts and most sincere sympathies are extended to his family at this time,” the spokesperson said.
The incident is under investigation and the company said it is cooperating with law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office and the Industrial Commission of Arizona said their investigation could take up to five months to complete.
A GoFundMe set up by Partida’s cousin to raise money for his family and cover his funeral expenses has so far hit more than $6,000 of its $10,000 target.
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