Abstract: At approximately 9:25 a.m. on September 16, 1999, Employee #1 and the yard superintendent were trying to start a Ford front end loader/tractor, model 445, that had stalled about 25 ft from the gangway entrance to the company offices. They were standing near the right rear tire, operating a battery charger and pushing the loader's starter button several times to try to activate the loader. Employee #1 was reaching over to push the starter button one more time when he apparently contacted a control that caused the machine to suddenly move forward. He was run over by the large rear tire and was killed. Apparently, the machine could start when it was in gear, and it should have been in neutral as it was being started. It was not known definitely if the machine was left in gear prior to the accident or if Employee #1 struck a control as he pushed the starter button. When the machine started, it moved approximately 25 ft onto the gangway, shearing off approximately 10 ft of guardrail on one side of the walkway before stopping.