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July 17, 2001 By Tom Vaughan A 21-year-old Cortez man received injuries to his hand and arm Friday afternoon in an industrial accident at the Western Excelsior plant in Mancos. According to Western Excelsior owner Charlie Mitchell, Juan Duarte was working on a machine that rolls eight-foot rolls of excelsior for use in erosion control. Instead of using a shovel to clear out the excelsior that builds up near the drive mechanism, he apparently reached in with his hand, which got caught in the chain drive, Mitchell said. Duarte had been working as a roll-stacker at the plant for two weeks. Mitchell said there are signs posted warning against reaching into the machines. He also said there was a manual shut-off switch within reach of Duarte. Mancos Town Marshal David Palacios reported Duarte was conscious and alert when he got to the scene at 2:40 p.m., despite the fact that Duarte’s left arm had been pulled lengthwise into the sprocket up to nearly his elbow. His injuries may have been lessened by a glove he was wearing. Mancos Ambulance Company personnel worked for about an hour to extricate Duarte from the machine without causing further damage to his limb. He was taken by ambulance to Southwest Memorial Hospital, where his arm was operated on Friday afternoon. He was released from the hospital on Sunday. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
