An employee died at an Iowa pork plant. | File Photo
An employee died at an Iowa pork plant. | File Photo
A man died in an accident at a pork plant in Iowa.
An employee at the Prestage Foods pork plant in Iowa died Sept. 10 after being injured in an accident at the plant while doing his job, WATT Poultry reported.
“Employee death reported at Eagle Grove pork plant,” USMWF United Support & Memorial for Workplace Fatalities said in a post to its official Facebook account Sept. 13.
The incident prompted comment from the leadership of the Prestage Foods organization.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of one of our team members early this morning at our Eagle Grove facility. An accident occurred on the third shift while the employee was performing routine maintenance duties,” Jere Null, CEO of Prestage Foods of Iowa, said according to the Facebook post.
Null revealed further details.
“Iowa OSHA has been notified and we are offering our full cooperation" Null said. "Support through the Employee Assistance Program is available to employees."
The employee was Jeffrey Leonardi. He was 57 and was a mechanic at the plant. Leonardi had been an employee at Prestage Foods since the opening of the plant in March of 2019, according to the post.
Iowa OSHA is conducting an investigation, but Prestage Foods will also conduct an internal investigation, The Messenger reported. A stabbing also occurred at the plant earlier in the year, according to the Facebook post.
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