Farm-accident victim ID’D as from Mexico

Authorities have identified the worker who was killed in an accident at a Union County egg farm last week as a 24-year-old Mexican national.

The body of Josue Adan Mezhua Hernandez of Zongolica was scheduled to be flown back to Mexico on Wednesday for funeral services.

Union County deputy sheriffs responded just after 1:30 p.m. on Aug.

8 to New Day Farms on Powder Lick Road in York Township after Hernandez fell off a motorized ladder about 15 feet above a concrete surface. A preliminary investigation found that he was repairing a manure-transport belt in a barn and was not wearing a safety harness.

Hernandez, a four-year employee at New Day, was pronounced dead at the scene from a skull fracture and brain injury. The incident is being investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Union County Coroner Dr. David Applegate said he was told that Hernandez was not in the U.S. legally and that the man’s aunt, who also works in the area, helped to identify him.new Day Farms released a statement of condolences, saying the safety of its employees is its highest priority.

Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton explained the lengthy process of identification by saying, “We have to get it right the first time for the sake of the family when making notifications; we can’t undo telling a family their loved one is deceased, if it really wasn’t them.”