Elk Grove Man ID'd As Victim In Silo Fall

ELK GROVE, CA — An Elk Grove resident has been identified as the man who died over the weekend after falling about 80 feet into a large silo at a former sugar plant in Tracy.

Dean Melavic, 53, died from his injuries Saturday at the former Holly Sugar plant, the San Joaquin County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Fire crews from the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority were called at 10:20 a.m. to the plant on reports of a person who had fallen near the bottom of the large steel structure. The plant is located at South Holly Drive and West Sugar Road.

It took one firefighter being lowered into the machinery and 16 other personnel one hour to retrieve Melavic.

"This was an extremely challenging operation that our crews handled safely with the required precision needed for this type of incident," South County Fire Chief Randall Bradley said in a statement.

The former sugar plant is now called Holly Commerce Center LLC, owned by Stephen Cortese of Lafayette-based Cortese Investment Company, which did not immediately respond to questions about the case.

It remains unclear who Melavic worked for or what he was doing at the time of his death. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health officials said they are investigating the death but did not provide further details.

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