TranslateAccident Report Detail
Accident: 200970036 - Employee Drowns When Excavator Falls Into Roadside Pond
| Inspection | Open Date | SIC | Establishment Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300697760 | 01/29/1999 | 1629 | Bureau Of Land Management |
Employee #1 was using an excavator to remove quantities of debris blocking the mouth of a culvert under a logging road. Heavy rains had caused a 20 ft deep by 40 ft wide by 60 ft long body of water to form next to the road and to flow over it. As he removed debris from the bottom of the pool of water, the side of the road on which the excavator was located was gouged away. This undermined the surface on which the excavator was situated, but since the water was muddy and as high as the surface of the road, Employee #1 did not notice this. When the excavator arm was extended and caused the machine's center of gravity to shift beyond the road surface, the excavator fell into the water. It landed on the door of the operator's cab, trapping Employee #1 inside. He died as a result of drowning. Employee #1 had never been involved in removing material from such a large project, and he was unfamiliar with the slope of the shoulder at the side of the road.
| End Use | Proj Type | Proj Cost | Stories | NonBldgHt | Fatality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highway, road, street | Maintenance or repair | Under $50,000 | X | ||||
| Employee # | Inspection | Age | Sex | Degree | Nature | Occupation | Construction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 300697760 | Fatality | Asphyxia | Occupation not reported | FallDist: FallHt: Cause: Installing culverts and incidental drainage FatCause: Crushed/run-over/trapped of operator by operating |