UPDATE:
MT. PLEASANT (KYTX) - OSHA and Pilgrim's Pride are investigating the death of a night-time shift manager.
The accident happened just after one this morning when a truck backed up, pinning the man.
Most of the employees we spoke with didn't know anything about the accident that killed Jimmy Bynum.
But they say safety is the number one priority for the company.
"Quite extensive orientation when you come in, teach you safety first. The number one issue," says Roderick Johnson who has worked as a truck mechanic for Pilgrim's Pride for 3 years.
He says the company focuses heavily on employee safety inside and outside the building.
"Wear bright yellow vests, have one myself to wear when I do work in the yard," says Johnson.
Pilgrim's Pride said in a press release, night shift manager Jimmy Bynum was wearing one of those vests when he somehow got pinned beneath a truck's tires as it backed up.
It happened in one of the bays at the protein conversion facility.
Paramedics flew Bynum, a 25-year employee, to ETMC in Tyler, where he died.
"It's a pretty safe place," says Patrick Holley, an employee.
Even as workers changed shifts, and heard the news, they say it's a safe work environment.
"Went to training and orientation, every so often they update classes," says Nikki Granados, who also says managers push safety, even at monthly meetings.
But the accident that killed one worker has some re-thinking what they do while at work.
"It raises awareness a little more, watch out. Have to pay a part in it also in order to stay safe," says Johnson.
Pilgrim's Pride says they are still not sure exactly what went wrong.
The spokesman says all the company can do now is offer their thoughts to the family in this tough time.
Pilgrims Pride employs more than 42,000 people world-wide.
They are one of the largest employers in the Mt. Pleasant area.
EARLIER STORY:
MT. PLEASANT (KYTX) -- A night shift supervisor at the Mt. Pleasant Pilgrim's Pride plant was killed in an early morning accident, according to plant officials.
Officials say Jimmy Bynum, who worked at the protein conversion plant, appeared to have been pinned under the back wheels of a truck while it was backing into a bay at around 1:00 am Wednesday morning.
Local fire and EMS crews were immediately called to the plant, and Bynum was transported to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler by helicopter, where he died early Wednesday morning.
Bynum was a 25 year Pilgrim's Pride employee.
OSHA, as well as Pilgrim's Pride, is investigating the incident.
