Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120070354 - San Luis Obispo, County Of

Inspection Information - Office: Labor Enforcement Task Force (Letf) Unit - South

Investigation Summary

At about 11:00 a.m. on January 4, 1995, after a lot of rain and wind, the county tree crew was in the Cambera area cleaning up trees that had been blown down. Employee #1 heard on the radio that a tree was down on Wilton Drive. It had fallen onto a telephone line and roadway. He drove a truck with an aerial lift on it to the job location. The truck with the aerial lift was set up and Employee #1 got into the basket wearing a hard hat and face shield. He also put a safety belt on and attached it to the basket. He went up about 20 to 25 feet high to cut branches from the fallen tree. By this time two coworkers had arrived on the job site. After about two cuts one coworker saw a large tree start to fall. He yelled, and all except for Employee #1, who was in the basket, cleared the area. The large tree fell on the arm of the aerial device, causing Employee #1 to be thrown out of the basket and causing the aerial lift to fall to the ground. Employee #1 landed on his head and was killed. Witnesses reported that there was very little rain and wind at the time of the accident.

Keywords: EJECTED, HEAD, TREE, FALL, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, TREE TRIMMING, AERIAL LIFT