Man killed in industrial accident at Slaton cotton facility

A 62-year-old man died after an industrial accident at a cotton processing facility Thursday morning in Slaton.

Santos Galicia-Hernandez died as a result of being crushed between two 1,500-pound stacks of cotton about 9:15 a.m. at the RSM cotton facility in the 1300 block of East Division Street, according to a statement from the Slaton Police Department.

Investigators believe the squeeze-lift operator was unaware Galicia-Hernandez was working between the two stacks of cotton when he compressed the row. University Medical Center EMS was called to the facility, but efforts to save the man's life were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An Avalanche-Journal phone message to the RSM Co. headquarters in North Carolina was not immediately returned.

According to the company's website, the RSM facility features a mote processing plant, a pickery for salvaging and reconditioning damaged cotton and warehousing.

The U.S. Occupation Safety & Health Administration will investigate the accident.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Man killed in industrial accident at Slaton cotton facility