A Tow Truck Operator Dies on a Highway When He Is Struck by a Car While Loading a Vehicle onto a Tow Truck - California

Details

• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Personal Author:
  Cierpich, Hank
• Corporate Authors:
  California Department of Public Health
• Description:
  On May 31, 2023, a 41-year-old male Hispanic tow truck operator was struck and killed by a passing vehicle on an interstate highway as he was loading a disabled vehicle onto a tow truck. Both the vehicle and tow truck were stopped on a triangular gore adjacent to the #6 lane and an onramp. The victim exited the driver's side of the flatbed truck and was standing within the #6 lane when he was struck by the vehicle traveling 65-70 mph. Contributing factors: Failure to recognize an unsafe condition posed by the gore; Lack of awareness of California's Move Over law; Failure to call law enforcement to secure the work area prior to loading a vehicle onto the tow truck. Recommendations - The California FACE (CA/FACE) investigator determined that, in order to prevent similar incidents, roadside assistance companies: 1) Develop and implement a safety training program for tow truck operators that emphasizes how to recognize and respond to unique situations (e.g., a gore), approaching traffic, and other hazards. 2) Promote awareness of the California Move Over law. 3) Ensure tow truck operators work with law enforcement/emergency service providers to secure the work area prior to loading a vehicle. 4) Promote use of variable messaging signs to help direct traffic away from roadside responders.
• Subjects:
  Mortality Motor Vehicles Occupational Health Safety Truck Drivers
• Keywords:
  Region 9; Fatalities; Injury prevention; Traumatic injuries; Safety practices; Motor vehicles; Highway work zones; Drivers; Warning signs; Small businesses
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  All (0000) ; Highway Work Zones (0008) ; Hispanic (0009) ; Motor Vehicles (0016)
• Source:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 23CA004, 2024 Dec; :1-10
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  10.26616/NIOSHSFACE23CA004
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; West Virginia ; San Francisco Region [OSHA] ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  10 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071996
• Contact Point Address:
  California Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Branch, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, P-3, Richmond, CA 94804
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  48-49 - Transportation and Warehousing - (NAICS 2022) ; 488410 - Motor Vehicle Towing - (NAICS 2022)
• Start Date:
  20050701
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:de56686178261798d54064ef15bb9226b704889d7aa687d9362b9bc9e72a46a67c2c06811b926bea7260ba7d2a31f2dc6d73cac2f37698dafad58949a3a89f5a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258864/cdc_258864_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 761.05 KB ]