Inspection Detail

Inspection: 2956738 - Nielsons Inc

Inspection Information - Office: State Of New Mexico Environment Department Occupational Health & Safety Bureau

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:30 p.m. on June 29, 1985, Employee #1 and two coworkers, both flagmen, were shoveling loose gravel from the edge of a roadbed. The 13 ft wide fill bed was 2 ft below the existing pavement and extended for miles. The two coworkers left Employee #1 to attend to flagging duties as a ten-wheel dump truck started backing toward the fill bed to dump a load of gravel. Employee #1 was standing near the center of the bed, facing away from the backing truck, whose driver was using his right mirror to align his truck to the right edge of the fill bed. Another coworker, who was at least 150 ft away, saw the truck backing up and that Employee #1 was not moving out of the way. He tried to warn Employee #1 by calling and signaling to her, and he also signaled the truck driver to stop. Employee #1 turned toward the back of the truck, but was struck and knocked down by the truck's tailgate. She tried to roll clear, but was run over by the left rear wheels, which crushed her lower legs and body. Employee #1 was killed. The truck's back-up alarms, mirrors, and brakes were all operational.

Keywords: TAILGATE, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, TRUCK, DUMP TRUCK, RUN OVER, BACKING UP, INATTENTION