A legal migrant farm worker was fatally injured while working at a major sweet potato farm in Nash County, marking the second such death at the same farm in just over two years.
Daniel de la Cruz, a 36-year-old from Mexico, was at work at Barnes Farming and FarmPak on the afternoon of Oct. 3. He was riding on the side of a large farm truck — between the trailer’s main cabin and the truck bed — on a state road close to the farm. The vehicle, a 2005 Freightliner, made a sharp right turn at an intersection. De la Cruz was thrown from the truck and subsequently run over by it, according to a collision report from the NC State Highway Patrol obtained by Carolina Public Press.
He was taken to Wilson Medical Center, and eventually transferred to ECU Health Greenville, where he died on Oct. 10 as a result of his injuries.
Barnes Farming and FarmPak, one of the largest sweet potato farms in the nation, was once owned by Johnny Barnes, the late husband of state Sen. Lisa Barnes, R-Nash. Last year, the farm was taken over by receivers as a result of unpaid debt.
Casa Azul de Wilson, a nonprofit serving Eastern North Carolina’s Latino community, calls de la Cruz’s death a “horrific and preventable tragedy.”
“His pelvis was crushed, and witnesses reported that his intestines were spilling out of his body,” wrote Flor Herrera-Picasso, Casa Azul’s executive director. “He was airlifted to the nearest hospital .... Despite multiple surgeries, Daniel ultimately succumbed to his injuries and passed away.”
The NC Department of Labor is currently investigating the circumstances of de la Cruz’s death. That investigation is likely to turn on whether farm worker supervisors instructed de la Cruz to ride on the side of the truck, or at least knew — or should have known — he was traveling in that manner.
De la Cruz is the second migrant worker to die while working for the farm in the last three years.
In September 2023, José Arturo González Mendoza, another H-2A visa worker from Mexico, died while harvesting sweet potatoes at Barnes Farming. The NC Department of Labor originally determined the cause of death to be heat exposure and dehydration, finding the farm guilty of a “willful serious violation” and fining the farm $187,509.
This spring, however, the department revoked those findings and reduced the fine after Mendoza’s autopsy revealed a tumor on his adrenal gland that produced a heart condition symptomatically similar to heat stroke.
Across North Carolina, six agricultural workers have died on the job in 2025 so far, according to the NC Department of Labor. De la Cruz — who was in the country via the H-2A visa program — makes seven.
However, according to Caitlin Ryland, project director at the Farmworker Unit of Legal Aid of North Carolina, agricultural worker illnesses, injuries and fatalities are woefully underreported.
“(De la Cruz’s) death cannot be dismissed as just another statistic,” wrote Herrera-Picasso of Casa Azul. “H-2A farmworkers are not disposable. Their lives and labor sustain this state’s agricultural wealth, yet they continue to face inhumane conditions and systemic neglect.”
The NC State Highway Patrol told CPP the agency had trouble reaching de la Cruz’s wife, Maria Perez-Reyes, in Mexico, which resulted in delays in publishing the collision report. Similarly, Pitt County, home to ECU Health Greenville, has yet to produce a death certificate for de la Cruz.
Because Barnes Farming participates in the H-2A visa program, it is required to carry a workers’ compensation policy, according to Ryland. Perez-Reyes and any other dependents could stand to share a payment that takes into account de la Cruz’s average weekly wage at the time of his death and the ages of any surviving minor dependents. Workers’ compensation benefits also cover related medical expenses and up to $10,000 of burial expenses.
But it isn’t so easy to collect what is potentially owed, especially for someone in the likely circumstances of Perez-Reyes.
“These avenues are difficult to maneuver without an attorney, particularly if you’re living in another country and don’t speak English, and may have limited access to technology,” Ryland said.
As for the farm, its spokesperson expressed mournfulness, without comment on any potential fault in the worker's death.
“Barnes Farming and its family of devoted team members are deeply saddened by the loss of Mr. Daniel de la Cruz,” Jacy Barnes Clapp, marketing director for Barnes Farming, told CPP.
“Every team member is important to the farm, and we are grateful for his contributions and dedication. Barnes extends our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all of Mr. de la Cruz’s loved ones during this difficult time.”
There is no timeline yet available for the ongoing Department of Labor investigation.
This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
