bigzak25
09-14-2004, 11:18 AM
news.yahoo.com (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040914/ap_on_re_us/manure_deaths)
Trial Begins for Farmer in Manure Deaths
By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer
MERCED, Calif. - The deaths of two dairy workers who were asphyxiated by gases rising from a fetid stew of cow manure could have been prevented if the farmer responsible for their safety had given them the proper training and equipment, prosecutors said Monday during opening statements in a case against the farmer.
Patrick Joseph Faria, from the small farming town of Gustine, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2001 deaths of Enrique Araisa and Jose Alatorre.
Prosecutors said Faria failed his workers in a number of ways, including failing to warn the employees of the manure pit's danger and to train them on how to enter. They also said he gave them no equipment, no protection, and no way to test the air.
In a brief response to the prosecution, defense attorney Kirk McCallister said that the incident was clearly a tragedy, but the question jurors were being asked to answer was whether a crime was committed.
McCallister said that when the two men fell into the pit, "Mr. Faria was about 90 miles away, driving to San Francisco airport."
Alatorre, 24, was the first to squeeze through a narrow opening of the 40-foot pit to unclog a pipe. From the pitch-black bottom, he yelled up to two other worker, saying the air wasn't good. He tried to climb out, but was overcome by the toxic gases, fell into the liquid waste and drowned.
The wastewater "was inside his nose. He gulped it. It was inside his lungs," said prosecutor Gloria Mas.
Araisa, 29, scrambled down to help Alatorre, but as he neared the bottom, he lost consciousness and fell.
"They both died of asphyxiation," said Mas, quickly flashing the gruesome images of the men's bodies on a large screen before the jurors.
Mas argued that Faria, who as a volunteer firefighter had been trained in the particular dangers posed by confined areas, knew that hydrogen sulfide, a gas frequently found in underground spaces, could be deadly.
The farm's Injury and Illness Prevention Plan specifically mentioned the manure pit as an area of concern and Faria as the safety manager on site, Mas said.
"Mr. Faria was supposed to protect these individuals, and he didn't," said Mas.
Trial Begins for Farmer in Manure Deaths
By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer
MERCED, Calif. - The deaths of two dairy workers who were asphyxiated by gases rising from a fetid stew of cow manure could have been prevented if the farmer responsible for their safety had given them the proper training and equipment, prosecutors said Monday during opening statements in a case against the farmer.
Patrick Joseph Faria, from the small farming town of Gustine, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2001 deaths of Enrique Araisa and Jose Alatorre.
Prosecutors said Faria failed his workers in a number of ways, including failing to warn the employees of the manure pit's danger and to train them on how to enter. They also said he gave them no equipment, no protection, and no way to test the air.
In a brief response to the prosecution, defense attorney Kirk McCallister said that the incident was clearly a tragedy, but the question jurors were being asked to answer was whether a crime was committed.
McCallister said that when the two men fell into the pit, "Mr. Faria was about 90 miles away, driving to San Francisco airport."
Alatorre, 24, was the first to squeeze through a narrow opening of the 40-foot pit to unclog a pipe. From the pitch-black bottom, he yelled up to two other worker, saying the air wasn't good. He tried to climb out, but was overcome by the toxic gases, fell into the liquid waste and drowned.
The wastewater "was inside his nose. He gulped it. It was inside his lungs," said prosecutor Gloria Mas.
Araisa, 29, scrambled down to help Alatorre, but as he neared the bottom, he lost consciousness and fell.
"They both died of asphyxiation," said Mas, quickly flashing the gruesome images of the men's bodies on a large screen before the jurors.
Mas argued that Faria, who as a volunteer firefighter had been trained in the particular dangers posed by confined areas, knew that hydrogen sulfide, a gas frequently found in underground spaces, could be deadly.
The farm's Injury and Illness Prevention Plan specifically mentioned the manure pit as an area of concern and Faria as the safety manager on site, Mas said.
"Mr. Faria was supposed to protect these individuals, and he didn't," said Mas.