Two hurt, one seriously, in unusual accident
The Royal Register News
ROYAL CITY - One man was hurt seriously and one not so much in an unusual farm accident near here on Sunday, Nov. 6.
Miguel C. Ayala, 42, of Royal City and Leonardo Gonzalez Gutierrez, 37, of Royal City, were removing water from an underground PVC line when it exploded.
According to Kyle Foreman of Grant County Emergency Management, Ayala suffered a broken lumbar with spinal cord injury. Ayala had feeling in his legs but could not move them.
Gonzalez Gutierrez suffered minor injuries, Foreman said. He was taken to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, where he was treated and released.
Ayala was placed in the Grant County Fire District No 10 ambulance for transport to Samaritan. He was treated by an American Medical Response paramedic after the GCFD and AMR ambulances met and the AMR paramedic was transferred. After treatment at Samaritan, Ayala was flown to a Spokane hospital by MedStar.
Ayala, the farm manager, and Gonzalez Gutierrez were winterizing irrigation lines at Highline Orchards, at 9018 Road G.5 SW, when the accident occurred. As is customary, they were using compressed air to remove standing water.
At about 9 a.m., the 10-inch line the two men were working on blew with such force that it threw Ayala 30 feet through the air. It left a crater 10 feet wide and five feet deep. It threw pipeline debris as far as 50 feet.
Foreman said he'd never heard of such an accident. He's certain the Department of Labor and Industries will make an in-depth investigation. A large industrial compressor was being used.
"I think it blew when (one of the men) opened a valve," Foreman said.
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