UPDATE: 1/4/21
DESERT HOT SPRINGS (CNS) – A man who suffered fatal injuries in a 100- foot fall while working inside a wind turbine near Desert Hot Springs was identified Monday as a 52-year-old Calexico resident.
Mario Contreras Jr. fell while working at a wind generation facility located west of Highway 62 and Painted Hills Road about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to Riverside County coroner’s officials.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to California Division of Occupational Safety and Health spokesman Luke Brown, the agency was notified by a representative of Site Constructors Inc. that an employee “fell more than 100 feet inside the tower of a wind turbine.”
The agency investigates workplace accidents.
Site Constructors did not immediately respond to a request seeking additional information.
ORIGINAL: 12/30/20
DESERT HOT SPRINGS (CNS) – A person died Wednesday in a 100-foot fall near Desert Hot Springs, authorities said.
The person plunged from an unspecified structure described only as a “tower” about 11:10 a.m. in a rural desert area near Oleander Drive and Painted Hills Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The person died before first responders arrived.
Traumatic Injuries – 11:08 am near Oleander Dr X Painted Hills Rd, in Desert Hot Springs. Firefighters responded to a patient who fell from 100 ft tower. The patient perished prior to arrival of first responders. pic.twitter.com/XIAaZGlMno
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) December 30, 2020
Google Maps shows both power poles and wind turbines in the area.
The victim’s name or other identifying information was not immediately provided
Photo credit: Cal Fire
