Construction Fatality Narrative: Company Co-Owner Backed Over by Work Truck

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 39-year-old co-owner of a construction company died after being run over by a backing work truck. He worked for his family's business for 17 years, including the last eight years as a co-owner. He worked on large civil projects, splitting his duties as a project manager, foreman, and laborer. The co-owner arrived in the morning to work on a levee maintenance project. Workers were getting ready to remove topsoil before excavating the site. He parked his pickup truck and got out on the dirt road. The site superintendent drove up to him in a commercial heavy-duty, chassis cab work truck. The co-owner got in the work truck and drove with the superintendent to a spot nearby. The superintendent asked the co-owner to get out and walk back to his pickup truck to make room for another worker who arrived and got in. The superintendent then started backing to a turnaround area on the side of the road. He backed about 100 feet when a dump truck driver behind him yelled over the radio for him to stop. His passenger told him he had backed over the co-owner. The superintendent hit the brakes, got out of the truck, and found the co-owner lying face down under it. He called 911, who told him to pull the co-owner out and start CPR. Several workers came to comfort the badly injured man, trying to keep him alive. First responders arrived quickly, but he died at the scene. Following the incident, investigators found: The co-owner was wearing a hi-visibility vest, but the superintendent and passenger still did not see him in the truck's side and rear view mirrors or sense when he was struck. A steel tube headache rack and fuel transfer tank hose reel on the truck's flatbed deck partially obstructed visibility through the rear cab window. The work truck had not been inspected annually as required by federal motor carrier safety regulations. REQUIREMENTS: Employers must: When operating vehicles on construction sites, other than passenger cars and pickups, with an obstructed view to the rear: You must prohibit the use of any motor vehicle equipment that has an obstructed view to the rear unless the vehicle meets one of the following: Has an operable automatic reverse signal alarm audible above the surrounding noise level and audible no less than 15 feet from the rear of the vehicle; Or is backed up when an observer signals that it is safe to do so. Comply with annual commercial motor vehicle inspection requirements. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences employers should: Create and enforce vehicle backing safety policies in their accident prevention program (APP) that: Drivers maintain clear visibility of workers on foot. When visibility is lost, drivers should stop and not resume movement until visibility is re-established. Workers stay out of backing zones unless trained and acting as an observer signaling the driver. Prohibit workers on foot from using radios or phones when crossing roads when there is vehicle traffic. Increase availability of vehicle turnaround areas on construction site roads to minimize backing distances. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Automobiles Construction Industry Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Construction Fatalities Motor Vehicles Safety Education Truck Drivers Vehicle Safety
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068782
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-247-2023, 2023 Nov; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dbfd763f1670ea916d257de005e0dec0142522ce37b76e4c31cc7271c4a4bcabb64313f4b39ef6e9be7f6fb22cf6773feae075844c1b87719eff519755be31d4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229202/cdc_229202_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 302.81 KB ]