Inspection Detail

Inspection: 107705998 - American Freightways

Inspection Information - Office: Little Rock Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was a truck driver who had dropped 2 trailers at the terminal and was picking up 2 more to transport out of state. Employee #1 had completed coupling both trailers and was raising the landing gear on the rear trailer. Apparently the employee had not secured the rig from rolling (i.e., set the tractor's parking brake, engaged the trailer's supply valve, and pulled down on the trailer's hand valve). When he lifted the landing gear and realized it was rolling backward, he ran between the 2 trailers and turned off the service brake and emergency brake valve handles. This action would have caused the emergency brake to apply on the rear trailer after a few seconds, but had no effect on the front trailer and tractor which continued rolling and jackknifed. Employee #1 was fatally crushed between the rear of the front trailer and the tongue of the rear trailer.

Keywords: BRAKE, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, CRUSHED, TRACTOR TRAILER, TRAILER, TRUCK DRIVER