E. Farmingdale company fined $5G after worker's death

An East Farmingdale packing company has been fined $5,000 for two safety violations after one of its workers was crushed to death in June when two pallets of vodka sauce fell on her, a federal agency said Wednesday.

L&S Packing workers stacked material incorrectly and operated two industrial forklifts without necessary backup lights, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled after a six-month investigation. Yolanda Gonzalez, 39, of Lake Ronkonkoma was labeling pallets of canned tomatoes at L&S, located at 101 Central Ave., when two pallets of vodka sauce - weighing about a ton - fell on her, Suffolk police said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The agency released the results of its investigation after notifying the company on Tuesday, according to a news release.

The OSHA investigators determined that materials at the facility "were not stacked in a secure manner" and that "bottom deck boards were missing on pallets." A deck board supports a pallet.

The probe also said that two Yale model forklifts were in operation without backup lights. The machines should have been taken out of service until the lights were repaired, the report said.

The company has been fined $2,500 for each violation and has 15 days to respond to OSHA regarding the results of the investigation.

OSHA had not conducted investigations of L&S Packing before the June accident.

A phone call seeking comment from company owner Louis J. Scaramelli IV was not immediately returned.