Man In Porta-Potty Crushed To Death By Bulldozer In Florida

POLK COUNTY, FL — A Florida man recently died after he was fatally crushed by a bulldozer while inside a porta-potty, authorities said.

Aaron Henderson, 40, of Winter Haven was killed Friday afternoon as he and others were wrapping up their workday.

He had been employed as a contracted traffic controller at Polk County North Central Landfill, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. Henderson was working as a spotter,e directing the flow of incoming and outgoing dump trucks within the landfill.

According to the sheriff's office, around 5:10 p.m., the driver of the bulldozer drove his rig up an embankment toward a heavy equipment staging area to park it.

While driving the bulldozer, the front blade of the machine remained elevated 3-4 feet off the ground, partially obstructing the driver's view, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies said as the driver reached level ground and turned the bulldozer, he heard a loud crumble.

As he continued driving the rig forward, deputies said he realized he went over a porta-potty, which he was unaware was near the staging area.

Deputies said he immediately stopped the bulldozer and ran toward the porta-potty to see if anyone was inside it. He found Henderson unresponsive. The foreman responded to the scene and dialed 911.

Polk County Fire Rescue pronounced Henderson dead at the scene.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was contacted immediately, the sheriff's office said.

An autopsy is scheduled, however, the sheriff's office said the incident "does appear to be a tragic, industrial accident."

Henderson was an employee of CertiTemp, a company contracted by the county.