A Los Banos man has been identified as the person killed in an excavator accident at a Fresno County quarry last week.
The Fresno County Coroner’s Office identified Johnathan Swarthout, 35, of Los Banos, as the person who died at Academy Quarry on Tollhouse Road in Fresno County.
The Fresno County Fire Department and Cal-Fire responded to the scene on July 29 at 8 a.m. after receiving a report of a construction worker being trapped.
Zach Irion, fire captain and spokesman for Fresno County Fire, said Swarthout was on an elevated section of the quarry operating an excavator to place rocks inside a dump truck. It is believed Swarthout attempted to move a rock that weighed so much it caused the excavator to tip over. The excavator’s cab area, with Swarthout inside, landed on a boulder on the section below where the piece of equipment was previously.
“He was basically unconscious when we got there. He was pinned to the boulder,” Irion said.
Swarthout was pronounced dead at the scene.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration has started an investigation into the incident.
Swarthout is survived by a wife and four children.
