Equipment Falls Off Forklift Killing Warehouse Worker

A 42-year-old maintenance worker was killed Tuesday afternoon at a Santa Clarita warehouse, when a piece of heavy equipment cradled in the arms of a forklift fell and crushed him, authorities said.

The victim, identified by the Los Angeles County coroner as Jose Deanda of Lancaster, had planned to repair the equipment--called a pallet jack--about 12:30 p.m. at the John Paul Mitchell Systems plant in the 26400 block of Golden Valley Road.

Deanda was underneath the forklift’s raised arms when the jack slid off and pinned him, said Sgt. Don Wyman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He was pronounced dead at the scene, coroner’s officials said.

The warehouse ships John Paul Mitchell hair-care products around the world. A company spokeswoman declined to comment about the accident, but a manager, who asked not to be identified, said employees were devastated by the news.

“We are in the middle of a very tragic situation,” the manager said.

Investigators from the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will look at the company’s training policies and whether Deanda followed guidelines. A report will be filed within six months, said spokesman Dean Fryer. Department records show no prior safety violations at the warehouse.

“This doesn’t seem like the proper procedure for operating a forklift,” Fryer said. “Our investigators will look at the safety issues and try to determine why he proceeded in this manner.”