OSHA probes worker's industrial accident

A federal safety agency is investigating an industrial accident in Shirley in which the employee of a beer distributorship lost his legs.

Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Wednesday the agency has opened a probe into Tuesday's accident at Clare Rose's new Shirley facility. OSHA routinely conducts investigations into this type of incident to determine if the employer complied with applicable safety standards, Fitzgerald said.

About 1:30 p.m., Clare Rose worker Julio Granados, 56, of Patchogue, was severely injured when he was trying to clear a blockage in a large compacting and baling machine, Suffolk County police said. Both of Granados' legs were lost as a result of the accident.

Granados underwent surgery Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening at Stony Brook University Medical Center, where he remained listed in critical condition last night, a hospital spokesman said.

When the first officers from the Seventh Precinct arrived at the facility, at 100 Rose Executive Blvd., they freed the worker from the mechanism, police said.

Det. Sgt. John Best said the actions of those first officers were critical.

"They immediately made rescue efforts to limit the amount of blood loss, because he was bleeding badly," Best said. "It's my understanding they saved his life by stopping that blood loss."

Other emergency responders helped to stabilize Granados, police said, and he was taken by police helicopter to Stony Brook University Medical Center.

It was not immediately clear whether he lost his legs at the accident site or whether one or both were later amputated.

Clare Rose, one of the largest beer distribution companies in the country, began operating at the newly built Shirley facility less than two years ago.

Granados has worked for Clare Rose for about 20 years, police said.

A call to a Clare Rose official seeking comment Wednesday was not immediately returned.