An employee of a Caltrans contractor was killed Saturday morning during an active landslide on State Route 36 east of Swimmer’s Delight, the agency announced.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office identified the man killed as former Eureka Police Sgt. Rodrigo Reyna-Sanchez, 58, who reportedly took up work with the contracting company after his retirement in 2022.
According to the sheriff’s office, the accident occurred in the 13000 block of State Route 36 at about 5:50 a.m., when a “significant amount of debris” fell from the active landslide.
“The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Reyna-Sanchez during this difficult time,” the press release states.
State Route 36 remains closed due to the active slide and Caltrans advises the travelling public to follow its District 1 social media accounts for the latest updates.
Reyna-Sanchez worked at the Eureka Police Department for 22 years, and received multiple commendations, before he was placed on administrative leave in March of 2021 after the Sacramento Bee reported on group text messages it obtained between him and a unit of officers he supervised. The texts used vulgar, misogynistic and dehumanizing language to describe unhoused residents and women, drawing widespread condemnation.
After a year-long investigation, Reyna-Sanchez, retired in March of 2022 while facing pending disciplinary action from the department, effective immediately.
In a statement, Caltrans extended condolences to Reyna-Sanchez’s family and those who knew him, adding that the safety of the traveling public, department employees and contractors is always the agency’s top priority.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the worker’s family and friends and all who knew and worked with him,” spokesperson Manny Machado said in an emailed statement, adding that the “tragic incident … serves as a reminder of the risks associated with our work on state highways.”
This article appears in Glory Over Land and Sea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITxYnGarpPQ This has not been handled well . Please Review the video from last month when the slide was coming down. We should have shut down the damn road
I was very sorry to read the man killed was a retired Eureka Police Department Officer, Mr. Sanchez. I believe his was working in a very dangerous spot with all the slide activity recently. Workers should not be placed in areas of high-risk period! My most sincere condoles to his family, friends, fellow works, and Eureka Police officers. May he RIP.