Civil suit begins in farming accident that killed Dublin teen; attorneys allege distracted driving was to blame.
- Sara Vanden Berge
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
A jury of eight women and four men began hearing testimony Tuesday in a civil case involving an 18-year-old Dublin teen killed in a farming accident on April 7, 2023.
The family of Jordan Sanchez is suing Grass Roots Farming in connection with his death.
One of the family’s attorneys, Katherine Binns, alleged in opening statements that Grass Roots hired 14 to 19-year-olds to pick up rocks in a field without proper safety training.
“This is a big and important case; it’s also a very simple case,” Binns said. “Grass Roots was more interested in protecting their equipment than protecting the kids.”
She alleged that the driver of the loader, which ran over and killed Jordan Sanchez, was distracted by his phone.
The victim’s brother Alfonso Sanchez wept as Binns described the accident, saying that the loader’s tire stopped on Jordan’s body and that he survived for about five minutes while Alfonso screamed, “Stay with me!”
The attorney for Grass Roots, Colin O’Neill, told jurors that Grass Roots Farming had a program for its employees that gives their children jobs on the farm.
He said the program had been in place for decades and that this was the first serious accident.
“The reality is that this tragedy happened because of a mistake,” O’Neill said.
Stephenville attorney Shay Isham is assisting in the defense.
The family is also being represented by Domingo Garcia and Stephenville attorney Cole Stokes.
THE TESTIMONY
Alfonso Sanchez was the first to take the witness stand on Tuesday.
He described his older brother as a “big teddy bear” and hard worker who liked to draw, play football and was in the National Honor Society at Dublin High School.
“He was just a really lovable guy,” Alfonso said.
On the day of the accident, Alfonso Sanchez said that he, his brother and five others were responsible for picking up random rocks, bigger than their fist, from the field.
He described the eight-hour workday as exhausting, saying the group would walk about eight feet in front of the loader and toss rocks into its bucket.
Alfonso told jurors that the group was working without a “spotter” or safety vest.
“I was walking a little bit ahead; I didn’t see Jordan so I looked back and saw him bending over to pick up a rock and the loader didn’t stop.”
He went on to say his brother was struck by the loader’s bucket and run over by a tire, which stopped on top of Jordan’s body.
Alfonso described a chaotic scene to get the driver’s attention.
“Could you observe what (the driver) was doing when he was in the cab of the loader?” Binns asked.
“He was on his phone,” he answered.
When the driver backed up, Alfonso said his brother was lying on his back, bleeding from his mouth and ears, but still breathing.
He died before EMTs arrived at the scene.
The family and some jurors wept as the accident was retold.
“Since that day, a part of me has been missing,” Alfonso said.
A 16-year-old witness also testified Tuesday that she was working alongside Jordan on the day of the accident.
She cried as she recalled witnessing the accident and testified that she observed the driver of the loader on his cell phone when it occurred.
Testimony will resume Wednesday morning.
(Keep scrolling for more scenes from Tuesday’s testimony.)
