A man using a portable restroom was crushed to death by a bulldozer in a freak accident in Florida.
Aaron Henderson, 40, was killed as employees put away equipment and prepared to shut down the North Central Landfill, where he worked as a traffic controller.
A bulldozer operator driving his machine on Friday afternoon had his line of sight partially blocked by the rig’s elevated blade, according to police. The blade was three to four feet off the ground.
The operator heard a big crumbling sound and realized he had driven over the portable toilet.
Police said: ‘He immediately exited the bulldozer and ran towards the porta-potty to see if anyone was inside of it.
‘At that time, he observed Henderson unresponsive inside the porta-potty.’
Aaron was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities called the incident a ‘tragic, industrial accident’ in the initial investigation.
As a ‘spotter’ at the landfill, Aaron was responsible for controlling traffic of dump trucks entering and exiting the landfill.
Martha Santiago, chairwoman of the Board of County Commissioners, said: ‘Last night’s incident was a tragic accident.
‘Our Board asks that you keep the family and friends of the deceased in your thoughts and prayers.’
Both Aaron and the unnamed bulldozer operator worked for the employment agency, CertiTemp, which has a contract with Polk County.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking into the accident.
It is the first fatality at the Polk County landfill.
County manager Bill Beasley said: ‘The Landfill is a dynamic, industrial environment with movement of hundreds of trucks coming to unload heavy equipment at the Landfill all day long. We have never experienced anything like this here.’
Aaron, of Winter Haven, is survived by several children, according to social media posts.
