A California-based trucking company owned by the makers of “Mary’s Chicken” branded poultry has an estimated accident rate nearly four times higher than industry standard and has racked up hundreds of safety violations, say two experts after they reviewed government truck safety records at The Fresno Bee’s request.
Pitman Family Farms, makers of the popular line of humanely-raised free-range poultry, has come under scrutiny recently for two worker deaths in less than a year at facilities and an injury rate at its Sanger poultry processing facility among the highest in the Central Valley. In one death, a 66-year-old worker drowned in a poultry waste pit during his shift . The latest death in February involved a 19-year-old worker who was run over after he was asked to wash a truck trailer in the same area where other trucks were operating at the plant, according to police records.
The truck involved in the tragedy is part of a fleet owned by Western Grain & Milling Inc., a separate company founded by at least one member of the Pitman family. The fleet of 145 trucks transports chickens to and from facilities throughout the region.