New Braunfels man loses foot in work accident

By Felicia Frazar in The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise
A 22-year-old New Braunfels man had his right foot amputated Tuesday morning in a work-related accident. Cuauhtemoc Guerra, an employee of Republic Plastics, was apparently working on a heavy piece of machinery at 11 a.m. when the accident occurred, said Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Cpl. Clint Garza.

“His foot got caught in it and it severely injured his right leg,” he said.

Seguin Fire Battalion Chief Rusty Krueger said the damage was enough to sever his foot.
“When he got his foot caught in a grinding machine, it amputated his right foot,” he said.

An official at University Hospital in San Antonio said Guerra was in surgery late Tuesday afternoon, and no other information about his condition was available.

Concerned co-workers gathered outside after the incident and waited while McQueeney first responders and Seguin Fire and EMS worked to stabilize the injured man.

“Everybody is very emotional right now and we are trying to take care of our employees,” said Republic Plastics Chief Operating Officer Doug Ross.

The medics transported the victim to the McQueeney Lions Club, where he was handed over to the flight crew of Methodist AirCare to be flown to University Hospital for further treatment.

The company is in the process of investigating the incident, Ross said. “Right now we are trying to figure out what happened,” he said.