Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300215563 - Walter H. Willis Sanitary Hauling, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Peoria Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:30 a.m. on February 20, 1997, Employee #1 started a refuse collection route that included about 200 stops. Sometime between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., he backed the rear-loading garbage truck up to a 2 yard dumpster in a driveway north of a health care center. Employee #1 started the packing cycle that tipped the dumpster into the hopper opening, emptied the garbage, and then lowered it back to the ground. There were two phases to the cycle. The first phase was initiated by pushing a lever that brought the packer panel down to within 8 to 12 in. of the loading sill where it stopped. Employee #1 then hooked chains affixed to the packer panel at the rear of the truck to the dumpster. The second phase required him to push the lever a second time, which brought the packer panel down to the hopper bed, emptied the dumpster, and then continued through the packing cycle and lowered the dumpster. While the dumpster was coming down, Employee #1 was standing between a 10 ft wide by 12 ft long storage shed that was 32 in. east of the dumpster. He was apparently trying to flip the dumpster lid closed as the unit was coming down when the south dumpster lid struck him in the throat and pinned him against the shed. Employee #1 was killed. His body was found at approximately 7:45 a.m., by a worker at the health care center.

Keywords: THROAT, CLEARANCE, GARBAGE TRUCK, PINNED, WORK RULES, DUMPSTER, CAUGHT BETWEEN, STRUCK BY, INATTENTION