UNION COUNTY, OH (WCMH) — Authorities have identified a 24-year-old man from Zongolica, Mexico, who had multiple aliases, as the victim of a farm accident in Union County last week.
Josue Adan Mezhua Hernandez died at about 1:32 p.m. on Thursday after falling off a ladder at a farm in the 20000 block of Powder Lick Road in York Township. according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
Hernandez, who had been employed at New Day Farms for four years, had several different aliases connected to his name.
When emergency crews arrived on scene they found the man unresponsive in the barn area.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies state that an investigation revealed that the man was working in a barn when he fell approximately 15 feet off a motorized ladder while repairing a manure transport belt, officials said.
Investigators worked with family members in the surrounding area for next of kin information as well as the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ID the victim.
“We have to get it right the first time for the sake of the family when making notifications, we can’t undo telling a family their loved one is deceased, if it really wasn’t them,” Sheriff Jamie Patton said.
Hernandez’s body will fly back to Mexico today for funeral services, official said.
