A 21-year-old woman named Alyssa Drinkard died while trapped under a conveyor belt. Drinkard, who worked at golf cart manufacturer Club Car, was working the night shift at the Georgia facility when she dropped her AirPods earbuds while on a conveyor belt. While attempting to get her AirPods, Drinkard was caught on the chain running underneath the conveyor belt and was quickly “sucked” away from her co-workers such as Fae’Zsha Smith who was unable to help her.
Drinkard, no longer responsive, did have a pulse, and emergency personnel started to perform life-saving measures before she was placed in an ambulance and transported to the hospital where she passed away the next morning. Her friend and co-worker Fae’Zsha Smith had told her to forget chasing after the AirPods that fell inside the conveyor belt. Before reaching for them, Drinkard told Smith, “‘It’s OK, I’ll just get new ones.” But she could not resist trying to get them out of the machinery.
Alyssa Drinkard, who died while trying to retrieve her AirPods
Smith turned away and when she looked back, her friend was caught in the belt. While the incident occurred last Friday, and is still fresh in her mind, Smith continues to be traumatized by the image she keeps seeing of her friend stuck under the belt. Surveillance footage obtained by the authorities shows Drinkard trying to crawl underneath the conveyor belt in order to save her AirPods only to get snagged by the belt.
Club Car workers toiling on the line that produces batteries for the company’s carts are warned not to wear jewelry and headphones, and to be aware of their surroundings according to one employee. In a statement, Club Car said, “First responders were immediately notified, and we thank them for their quick response to provide medical care and transportation to the hospital where the worker unfortunately later passed away.”
The company added, “Our sincere condolences and thoughts are with the family, friends and all impacted by this loss. We are working with authorities and the contractor in an investigation to determine the facts about what led to the incident.”
If you ever face a similar situation, do the safe thing and just buy a new pair of AirPods. It is not worth your life to try and play the hero and retrieve them.