Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120106620 - Cal-Mat Company

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys Mining & Tunneling District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on October 9, 1998, Employee #1 was driving a CAT 769 haul truck from the pit to the processing plant of a sand and gravel producer. He backed his truck onto a 25 ft high bank, raised the truck bed and started dumping his load of sand and gravel over the edge. Employee #1 later stated that the rear wheels suddenly dropped and the truck started to slide slowly backward down the bank. The rear wheels then seemed to catch and, with the bed raised, the truck rotated up and over the rear wheels, coming to rest on its back. The cab partially collapsed and Employee #1 became pinned between the cab roof and the steering wheel. No coworkers in the pit witnessed the accident, but they heard the noise and responded to assist the driver and call 911. Paramedics arrived within 12 to 13 minutes and required 20 to 30 minutes to extract Employee #1 from the cab. He never lost consciousness and was airlifted to Harbor UCLA Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with an open pelvic fracture and underwent surgery. Employee #1 later stated that there was a berm on the bank and that he did not roll into it. The production foreman maintained that he checked the dump site and bank that morning. An inspection of the dump spot revealed the remnants of a berm on each side and bank failure in the center.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PINNED, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT OPERATOR, CAUGHT BETWEEN, DUMP TRUCK, PELVIS, UNSTABLE SURFACE, OVERTURN, TRUCK DRIVER