A man who had spent the better part of the day irrigating fields in Stevinson was found dead Tuesday night, the Merced County Sheriff’s Department reported.
The sheriff’s department has not released the name of the man, pending next of kin notification. He was a 38-year-old Hispanic man.
The man was found just before 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 15000 block of Highway 140 in Stevinson, said sheriff spokesman Deputy Tom MacKenzie.
According to the other workers, the man had been irrigating fields that day and told his boss he was calling it quits sometime after 5 p.m. He was last seen alive riding a quad, headed in the direction of a shop located on the property, MacKenzie said.
The boss returned to the shop about 45 minutes later and saw the quad parked next to a shed instead of being put away. As he moved towards the shed he saw the victim lying flat on his back on the ground in front of the quad.
As the boss approached the man it appeared as if he was trying to say something, but couldn’t get it out, MacKenzie said.An ambulance was summoned and upon their arrival the paramedics pronounced the 38-year-old dead at the scene.
According to Detective Eric Macias, there was no evidence of foul play and it appeared as if the victim got off his quad, took a few steps and collapsed. A cause of death will not be determined until an autopsy can be performed.To contact Sabra Stafford, e-mail sstafford@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2002.
