Maintenance worker drowns in golf course pond
By: SARAH WILKINS - Staff Writer | ∞
CARLSBAD -- A maintenance worker drowned while working to clean out a golf resort pond Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The incident was reported at 8:30 a.m. at the La Costa Resort and Spa in the 2100 block of Costa Del Mar Road, a NorthComm fire dispatcher said.
Domingo Lorenzo Ramos, 20, an employee with Environmental Water Management in Santa Ana, was clearing dead algae from the pond when the waist-high waders he was wearing apparently filled with water, weighing and pulling him down, said Dean Fryer, a spokesman with The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
"It looks like he may have slipped," Fryer said.
Medical examiner's investigator James Buckley said Ramos is survived by family in Guadalajara, Mexico. An autopsy will be conducted today.
Police Lt. Kelly Cain said Ramos, who was believed to have been on his first day on the job, was standing in the pond on a 3-ft. lip near a ledge that dropped 14-ft., and possibly stepped off into the deep area.
Some of the other workers that Ramos was with jumped into the acre-sized pond to look for him and called 911 when they could not find him in the water, which was described as muddy and filled with weeds, fire Battalion Chief Mike Kennedy said.
"It was not real clear water," he said. "There was limited to no visibility. Once (fire personnel) were a little bit in the water, they really couldn't see."
Fire Department personnel searched for the man and found his body about 40 minutes later in 12 feet to 15 feet of water, Kennedy said. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:38 a.m.
None of the other maintenance workers or responding firefighters were injured, he said.
As part of the ongoing Cal-OSHA investigation, the agency will look at factors such as procedures and training, Fryer said.
"Typically the work should be done in a more shallow part of the water, not a deep part," he said, adding that the exact area where the victim was when he fell remained unclear.
Cal-OSHA investigations typically take two to three months, Fryer said.
-- Contact staff writer Sarah Wilkins at (760) 740-3524 or swilkins@nctimes.com.
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Skip wrote on Jun 27, 2007 6:24 AM:... How much training did this man recieve, and what kind of safety procedure were in effect that he was not hooked up to a safety line.
MVet wrote on Jun 27, 2007 6:38 AM:... Can a company be sued by relitives in a foreign country? In this case Mexico.
Worket's Compensation wrote on Jun 27, 2007 7:33 AM:I hope his employer quickly makes the death payment to his family in Guadalajara, Mexico. Might I ask why this information was important? I guess your newspaper wants to lead people to believe that this man is an illegal immigrant, hummm. Who cares if this guy was white, brown, or black, or if he was a citizen, or permanent resident alien or an illegal immigrant this is tragic.
To MVet wrote on Jun 27, 2007 9:07 AM:There you go with your rude comments... Someone lost a life and all you could think about is someone suing...Get a life!
EthnicStudent wrote on Jun 27, 2007 12:04 PM:That sucks.
To MVet Suing is not necessary!! wrote on Jun 27, 2007 2:34 PM:It is an automatic death benefit paid by companies when an employee dies on the job. No one said anything about suing. Have you any idea just how much employers paid out on death benefits after the tragic events of 9/11? This is life man so I don't feel the need to "get a life"
teri wrote on Jun 27, 2007 6:48 PM:SUE, SUE, SUE THATS THE WORD TODAY. SHAMEFUL BUT TRUE.
Aww Shute wrote on Jun 27, 2007 8:59 PM:Although it may be 'the first such tragedy at La Costa' it's not likely to be the last. As a cost savings measure La Costa Resort contracts out a number of hazardous jobs, often to disreputable firms who dispatch untrained and ill-prepared employees [who rarely speak English].
MrBill wrote on Jul 7, 2007 3:09 PM:First time I have read your page and the associated 'comments'. It always amazes me how some people, who quite frankly have seldom accomplished anything notable, useful or helpful, so quickly shoot off their mouth and blame the company... the government... the lack of training... ANYTHING but the guy that killed HIMSELF!... All great success has had its 'wieners'. Complainers who sit back and vomit out their pathetic 'thoughts' about thing they have NO... I repeat... NO real knowledge... Amazingly, America still survives despite these people!
Mary wrote on Aug 9, 2007 12:49 AM:Bill put a sock in it. It's obvious you work for one of those companies doing all it can to avoid blame by your reaction. And quite frankly your kind makes me sick. I have a wealth of real knowlege as well as a long list of accomplishments. Real knowlege consists of nothing more than an awareness of the scantless corporate trickery practiced by those like you in an attempt to avoid any and all responsibility/accountability. As a matter of fact I'd say at the very lest you are employeed by Environmental Water Management and you are running interferrence for the. Stupidity should hurt. Get a clue
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