POLK COUNTY, Ore. — Officials with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office say a 51-year-old man has died in a farming accident south of McMinnville.
Deputies were called just before 11 a.m. Friday after co-workers found Jose “Carmen” Olmedo-Zaragoza dead inside farming equipment used in harvesting hazelnuts.
Deputies said in a news release that Olmedo-Zaragoza had been operating a tractor that was hauling equipment with a moving auger inside. They say it appears the auger caught Olmedo-Zaragoza’s loose clothing and pulled him inside the equipment.
Preliminary indications suggest he died from positional asphyxia.
A final cause of death will be determined by the Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office.
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