An employee was killed in an on-the-job accident early Wednesday morning at the Fieldale Farms facility on Thompson Bridge Road in Murrayville.
The Hall County Sheriff's Office identified the man as Chit Tuay, 38.
"We got the call shortly after 3 o'clock in the morning to the Fieldale facilities in Murrayville," said Hall County Sheriff's Office spokesman Derreck Booth. "On arrival, we discovered a male victim deceased."
Fieldale Farms Corp. President Tom Hensley said Tuay had worked for the company for five years.
"We're devastated by his death," Hensley said. "He was working on a sanitation crew on the night shift cleaning up our plant, and he'd done this job over a thousand times."
Hensley said Tuay was on a short stepladder cleaning the inside of a scalder - which was empty at the time - when he somehow slipped and fell into the equipment, breaking his neck. Hensley said it appeared Tuay died instantly.
"I reached out to his family to offer condolences...we'll miss him," Hensley said.
Hensley said Tuay was part of a 12-person crew, but no one saw the accident happen. Booth also said the early investigation showed Tuay was alone at the time of his death.
Hensley said the company immediately contacted Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) officials. OSHA confirmed an investigation is underway.
