A man was crushed to death by a bulldozer last week while he was using a porta-potty.
Aaron Henderson, 40, from Winter Haven, was killed while he was working as a traffic control contractor at the North Central Landfill in Polk County. Aaron, a father of three, was hired to work at the landfill a few weeks ago.
Lenard Henderson, Aaron’s older brother, said: “He came up in the streets a little bit and he was tired of living like that. He wanted to have a responsibility and be a responsible person.”
FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported that Aaron had been working as a spotter at the site, providing traffic control to incoming and outgoing dump trucks from the ground as they dumped trash in the landfill.
The landfill is a dynamic, industrial environment with the movement of hundreds of trucks coming to unload heavy equipment at the landfill all day long.
According to investigators, Aaron was finishing his workday as a director for dump-vehicle traffic when he entered the portable bathroom just after 5 pm.
An unidentified bulldozer driver was putting the vehicle away for the night and when the worker was going up the embankment, the bulldozer was elevated around a meter off the ground.
He then inadvertently ran over the porta-potty with Aaron inside. The operator heard a big rumbling sound and realized he had driven over the portable toilet.
Police said: “He immediately exited the bulldozer and ran towards the porta-potty to see if anyone was inside of it. At that time, he observed Henderson unresponsive inside the porta-potty.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the driver did not see directly in front of him because the raised blade of the bulldozer was obstructing his view. Aaron was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to authorities, the initial investigation suggests that it was a “tragic industrial accident”. It is the first fatality at the Polk County landfill.
Martha Santiago, chairwoman of the Board of County Commissioners, said: “Last night’s incident was a tragic accident. Our Board asks that you keep the family and friends of the deceased in your thoughts and prayers.”
Bill Beasley, the County manager said: “The Landfill is a dynamic, industrial environment with the movement of hundreds of trucks coming to unload heavy equipment at the Landfill all day long. We have never experienced anything like this here.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was contacted, and an autopsy will be conducted at a later date, though deputies said it appears to be a tragic, industrial accident. The landfill is located about 55 miles southwest of Orlando.
Both Aaron and the unnamed bulldozer operator worked for the employment agency, CertiTemp, which has a contract with Polk County. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking into the accident.
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