Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1474779.015 - Ca Prison Industry Authority

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

At 6:05 p.m. on April 13, 2020, an employee working on a crew as an inmate laborer for a State Prison Industry Authority Facility had finished processing poultry to feed the institution. The inmate laborers were being moved to their yard after completing the day's work. A group of approximately 16 inmates were being transported in the back of two pickup trucks. Coworker #1 (correctional officer) loaded up half of the crew in the back of his truck and told the other half to get on a truck operated by Coworker #2 (industrial supervisor and state civil service employee). Coworker #2 loaded the crew in the back of his truck and was leaving the Sallyport, which is the poultry warehouse located approximately a mile from the crew's yard. The crew in the back of the pickup truck driven by Coworker #2 and were not able to sit properly on the bed of the truck due to excessive number of passengers. Coworker #2 hit a dip in the road at the gate right before the paved road. This caused the truck to bounce erratically. The employee was sitting in the middle flanked by two other inmates sitting on the tailgate which was in the down position. The employee was tossed up in the air and fell off the truck landing on the pavement on his head. He bounced and rolled a few times before stopping. Surveillance video indicated the truck was driven at a steady and excessive speed through the entire 20-foot by 25-foot dip. The employee sustained serious bodily injuries including a broken left elbow, cracked skull, and bruised brain and required hospitalization.

Keywords: Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Brain, Contusion, Correction officer, Driver, Driving, Ejected, Elbow, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fracture, Head, Injury Illness Prevention Program, Insufficient Supervision, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Motor Vehicle, Pavement, Pickup Truck, Prison, Prison Guard, Speeding, Torso, Work Surface