Coroner Identifies Forklift Operator Crushed By Wine Pallet

SONOMA COUNTY, CA—A forklift operator who died Thursday at a Windsor wine storage facility was identified Friday by the Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner's Office as Miguel DeJesus Hernandez, 40, Santa Rosa.

Hernandez was fatally injured shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday at a commercial building in the 1000 block of Shiloh Road. Emergency personnel with the Sonoma County Fire District pronounced him dead at the scene.

Windsor police said Hernandez was working with a stack of pallets full of wine and weighing around 3,000 pounds each. It is believed his forklift became stuck and when he got off to inspect it, a pallet fell on top of him, killing him.

There were no witnesses, police said.

Cal/OSHA confirmed it was investigating a fatality involving an employee at Alexander Valley Cedars in Windsor.

"Cal/OSHA ... cannot provide further details at this time," Cal/OSHA Spokesperson Denisse Gómez told Patch.

The state agency has up to six months to determine whether it will issue any citations in connection with the death.