Inspection Detail

Inspection: 104391909 - Maryland State Highway Administration

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a highway maintenance worker, was part of an 11-man crew performing road maintenance work on SR 249. Employee #1 was acting as flagman and had been instructed to work near the grader machine, warning the operator of approaching vehicles and controlling the traffic flow past the equipment that was working on the shoulder. Employee #1 had been near the grader machine at the northern end of the DOT work site. A SHA dump truck, #036, had driven to the northern end and the grader had moved along the north shoulder toward the southern end of the work area. Employee #1 apparently had started walking south along the shoulder toward the grader when truck #036 started to back up. The driver, who did not see Employee #1, traveled 50 ft backward, running over Employee #1. He sustained massive crushing injuries to the head and chest, and was killed. Employee #1 was trained in his work assignment and had been an SHA employee for 14 1/2 years. The employer provides all personal protective equipment required for its work assignments. At the time of the accident the weather was overcast with light rain falling.

Keywords: HEAD, WORK RULES, FLAGMAN, CRUSHED, DUMP TRUCK, RUN OVER, HIGHWAY SHOULDER, BACKING UP, INATTENTION