Machine may have caught woman’s hair
Contributing authors: Teresa Sewell
A 24-year-old employee who was killed at a Southwest Side manufacturing company Monday morning possibly died from a broken neck after her hair became entangled in a machine, fire department officials said. Police identified the victim as Ana Compechano, of the 6500 block of South Troy. She was pronounced dead when paramedics reached R. Popernik Co. Inc., located at 2313 W. 59th St.
They freed her from the machine around 8 a.m. Monday.
An autopsy is pending, and the exact cause of Compechano’s death will be released today, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
The machine that trapped Compechano, which is used to wrap plastic around boxes, has a large spinning roller, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. Compechano was apparently pulled down by the machine when her hair was caught in its shaft, Langford said.
Compechano’s family, which lives with her in West Lawn, did not want to speak with reporters.
Chicago Police and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident.
This article originally appeared in Chicago Sun-Times.
