Abstract: Employee #1, who was not wearing a seat belt, was preparing to unload a boxcar with a Sperry New Holland skid steer loader, model #L-775. The employee was driving forward without a load up an 18.72 degree ramp to the unloading dock. Because 70 percent of the weight is on the back tires of the loader when it is empty, the loader tends to become unstable going up a steep slope. This particular ramp was 72 in. wide and the loader was 75 in. wide from tire to tire. The loader was approximately halfway up the ramp when it stopped and then started backing down the ramp. The loader backed a foot or so and then stopped abruptly, causing the front tires to rise a foot or more from the ramp into the air. When the loader came back down, the right front tire bounced off the right side of the ramp. Employee #1 was thrown forward, which forced his head between the frame of the loader and the cross brace between the two lifting arms. As he went forward, his foot evidently pushed the control to lower the bucket. His head was crushed between the loader frame and the cross brace. Employee #1 was killed.