FARGO, N.D. (AP) - An American Crystal Sugar Co. worker died of injuries suffered when she was struck by a forklift carrying a 1,000-pound load, police say.

Larae Murch, 50, of West Fargo, died late Sunday morning at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo.

Police Lt. Jim Nielsen of Moorhead, Minn., said the forklift driven by Mitchell Larson, 50, of Glyndon, Minn., was carrying a half-ton box crusher that measured 4 feet wide, tall and deep. Larson was about to make a left turn when the forklift struck Murch about 11 p.m. Saturday, Nielsen said.

"We've got no indication that she was in a place she wasn't supposed to be," he said. "The forklift was carrying a large load, so he (Larson) was somewhat limited in his view."

Police said they found Murch unconscious with a head injury. She was taken by ambulance to MeritCare hospital in Fargo.

As a standard procedure, blood was drawn from Larson and sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension lab for examination, Moorhead police said in a statement.

American Crystal Sugar spokesman Jeff Schweitzer said company officials were looking into the incident, and he did not immediately know Murch's job title or how long she had worked for the company. Nielsen said her family asked not to be contacted by the media.

"It's an incident that American Crystal regrets very deeply," Schweitzer said. "Our employees are a key element of how we operate our business, and we think of them as family."