An American woman has died after getting caught in a conveyor while trying to recover an AirPod she dropped under it, authorities say.
Alyssa Drinkard, 21, dropped the AirPod below the conveyor while on shift at a plant for Club Car in Georgia at around 9.45pm on Friday, according to an incident report from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Fellow employee Fae’Zsha Smith, who witnessed the incident, told investigators that when Ms Drinkard tried to get the earbud from under the machine, she got caught in the chain that moves the conveyor.
Due to the way Ms Drinkard was pinned, the witness “was not able to get her out, so she called for maintenance to come and shut the machine down,” the report says.
Workers at the company, which makes golf carts and other vehicles, began taking the conveyor apart once the machine was down and called 911, the report adds.
Emergency personnel freed Ms Drinkard “by cutting the metal frame from around the conveyor and pulling her out,” investigators wrote, adding she still had a pulse as emergency personnel performed life-saving measures on her before she was hospitalised.
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Club Car confirmed to The Augusta Press that a worker on Friday night sustained critical injuries at its primary manufacturing facility in Evans and later died.
“First responders were immediately notified, and we thank them for their quick response to provide medical care and transportation to the hospital where the worker unfortunately later passed away,” the company said.
“Our sincere condolences and thoughts are with the family, friends and all impacted by this loss. We are working with authorities and the contractor in an investigation to determine the facts about what led to the incident.”
‘She was always so sweet’
Ms Smith, 25, told Sky News’ US partner NBC News on Wednesday she was unable to shake the images of Ms Drinkard lodged under the conveyor and was “traumatised from seeing her that way”.
Ms Drinkard was working across from her when she dropped an AirPod under the conveyor, Ms Smith said.
She then looked under the machine and saw the earbud. She recalled telling Drinkard that she’d get it for her once it was safe to do so.
“She said, ‘It’s OK, I’ll just get new ones,'” Smith said.
But she said seconds passed before she looked up to see Ms Drinkard’s arm caught in the machine, noting it was bent and there was a significant amount of blood.
Ms Drinkard had worked at the plant for about a year, Ms Smith said, and was quiet but well-liked by other line workers.
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“She was always so sweet,” Ms smith continued. She always had a smile on her face.”
Ms Smith added she had not yet returned to work.
According to Club Car’s website, the company, based in Augusta, has been an industry leader in making golf carts for decades and makes the official golf cart for the PGA of America, PGA TOUR Tournament Players Club Network and European Tour.
