A ranch worker was killed Tuesday morning when a haytruck lost its brakes on Bud Spaletta's dairy in Hicks Valley.
The truck rolled hundreds of feet down the southeast slope of Red Hill, narrowly missed a ranch house, and smashed to pieces after it jumped a wide ditch. Please see photo on Page 1.
Francisco Martinez, 46, had been tossing hay off the back of the slowly moving flatbed when the truck's brakes failed. Martinez was killed instantly after he was thrown from the truck as it sped two-thirds of the way down the hill.
The truck "had had problems with the brakes before," Highway Patrol spokesman Terry Sims said Wednesday.
Tire tracks indicated that the truck was on its wheels at the spot where Martinez' body came to rest. Judging from major injuries to his legs and head, Martinez was probably hit by the truck, Sims said.
The driver, Santiago Padilla, 43, was rescued from the truck's mangled cab, which had been torn free of the rest of the vehicle. The violent crash also ejected the truck's engine from underneath the hood.
Padilla, who was conscious as rescuers worked to free him, was taken by helicopter to Santa Rosa Community Hospital with a shoulder injury. On Wednesday, his condition was listed as stable.
Rancher Spaletta told The Light on Wednesday that Mr. Martinez was a friendly man and a hard worker. "He worked for me for eight years," Spaletta said. "He was just a swell fellow. He had a lot of friends."
Mr. Martinez is survived by a wife and a stepdaughter who live in Mexico.