A worker at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s El Segundo facility died Saturday morning after collapsing at work while treating parts earlier in the week, the company said Monday.
Stephen Najera, 23, was pronounced dead at 12:10 a.m. Saturday at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Marina del Rey.
The cause of death was undetermined, pending further testing, according to Ed Winter, Assistant Chief at the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.
During the evening shift on June 30, the Baldwin Park resident was working at the El Segundo facility inside a grit blast booth, a room that uses a sand blaster to treat parts before they are painted.
"He was found unconscious by fellow employees in the booth, and they began administering CPR," said Brooks McKinney, a spokesman for Northrop's El Segundo-based Integrated Systems sector.
The company's onsite fire department responded to the emergency, and took over CPR on Najera. Later, the El Segundo Fire Department responded, and transported him to the hospital.
Najera remained hospitalized until his death, McKinney said.
"Northrop Grumman is still investigating the circumstances of the incident," McKinney said. "We have to determiine what happened. Was Northrop Grumman's activities related to his death? Sometimes people come down ill while they're at work, and it has nothing to do with their work. I don't want to speculate about that."
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