An employee at a mattress manufacturing plant in Grantsville, Utah, died Thursday in an industrial accident.
Anita Irene Coester, 51, was a maintenance worker at Purple Mattress. Initially, local police stated that her arm became entangled in a piece of machinery. However, according to a company spokesperson, she was injured while performing a repair.
Coester had perished by the time emergency personnel arrived on the scene and extricated her from the machine.
The company paused production at the manufacturing facility for an investigation. The accident was reportedly captured on video, which should help authorities sort out the circumstances leading to Coester's death.
In a statement, the company said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family."
According to a report from KUTV, this is the fourth reported safety incident at the facility since January. While this is the first accident that claimed a worker's life, a 70-year-old production worker suffered a fall and broke a rib in a previous incident.
OSHA has allowed the company to resume operations, but the mattress maker won't ramp up to full production until it completes an internal investigation.
