Employee injured in forklift accident at Teasdale plant in Atwater

A Teasdale Quality Foods employee has been transported to a Modesto area hospital following an industrial accident at the company’s processing plant in Atwater on Friday.

According to Atwater Police Chief Michael Salvador, officers responded to the processing plant in the 900 block of Packers Street just after 8 a.m. for a report of an industrial accident involving a forklift.

Salvador said a male worker was unloading a train car when the forklift partially rolled, pinning the man beneath the vehicle for at least 35 minutes.

Fire personnel responded to the scene and were able to extricate the man, who was flown to Doctor’s Medical Center in Modesto with major injuries to his lower body, according to police.

Salvador said the employee was conscious and talking with officers during the incident. The Atwater Police Department is investigating the incident and California Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified.