A young Grovetown woman lost her life at the Club Car facility in Evans, sparking a thorough investigation by authorities.
Contract worker Alyssa Drinkard, 21, became entrapped in a conveyor belt on Friday night and was pronounced dead later at Doctors Hospital, according to Maj. Steve Morris with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigator William Bonsack and a team responded to Club Car on Washington Road, where they met with Club Car’s Environmental Health and Safety Team to delve into the circumstances surrounding Drinkard’s death. According to initial reports, deputies were dispatched to the facility at 9:44 p.m. Friday.
Drinkard, reportedly attempting to retrieve her dropped Air Pods, found herself trapped beneath the conveyor belt. Despite efforts by maintenance personnel to halt the machinery and extricate her, Drinkard could not be rescued in time. She was subsequently transported to Doctor’s Hospital by Gold Cross Med 1, where medical personnel pronounced her deceased at 5:50 a.m. Saturday.
Maj. Morris could not confirm or deny social media reports that Drinkard was decapitated, but it seems unlikely since she was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead hours later.
Surveillance footage obtained by authorities revealed the sequence of events leading to Drinkard’s death. It showed her crawling underneath the conveyor belt in an attempt to retrieve her lost device, only to become ensnared and ultimately unable to free herself.
Co-workers were expressing their shock about the tragedy, saying Drinkard was working on second-shift in the President Line area that works on the cart’s battery cells. Workers are told to be careful around their surroundings and to avoid wearing jewelry and headphones, one employee said.
Deputy Coroner Autumn Bradford conducted preliminary examinations at Doctors Hospital and later convened with investigators at the Club Car facility. Drinkard’s body will undergo further examination at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) lab to determine the exact cause of death. Employees said they saw representatives with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the facility over the weekend.
A sheriff’s report provided this narrative: “I arrived at the listed location and observed Alyssa Drinkard pinned under the conveyor at her workstation. She did not appear to be breathing. EMS and Fire arrived on the scene at the same time and began life-saving measures. They freed Alyssa by cutting the metal frame from around the conveyor and pulling her out. Once they got Alyssa out, they said she still had a pulse and transported her to Doctors Hospital for further treatment.
“Once EMS left with Alyssa, I went back inside and spoke with an employee, FaeZsha Smith, who was working with her when she was injured. Smith said Alyssa dropped her Air Pods below the conveyor, and when she got under the machine to get them, she got caught by the chain that moves the conveyor.
“Smith said due to the way Alyssa was pinned, she was not able to get her out, so she called for maintenance to come and shut the machine down. They began taking it apart once the machine was down and called 911.”
Club Car released this statement: “Friday evening, a contract labor worker experienced a critical injury while working at our main manufacturing facility in Evans. 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. 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.”
(Note: If you have a better photo or memory of Alyssa to share, please text it to 803-487-3224.)
