Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300800232 - Apco

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on July 21, 2000, Employee #1, a paving equipment operator for a specialty paving company, was returning home after working out of town for approximately one week. He was driving a semi- truck and trailer rig, with a paver on the trailer and a Ford F-450 service truck being towed behind the trailer. Employee #1 was the last to leave the work site, and when the Ford service truck blew a front tire, there was no one to help him change it. He pulled the rig over to the side of the road, and changed tires by using one of the dual tires from the back to replace the single flat front tire. He then put the flat on the rear as a placeholder for the good tire he had just removed. Employee #1 drove to a tire store, unhooked the service truck from the tow bar, and backed it away from the rig. Upon returning from lunch after the tire was changed, he prepared to reattach the service truck. This was done by first turning the service truck's ignition key one click to the AUXILIARY position to unlock the steering wheel. Employee #1 then went to the vehicle's tow bar, where, near the end of the V of the tow bar, there was a switch that, when tapped, caused the vehicle to inch forward until the tow bar lined up with the pineal hitch on the back of the trailer. When Employee #1 tapped the switch, instead of inching forward, the service truck started up in gear and drove forward, crushing his lower body against the trailer. He suffered a crushed tailbone and pelvis with multiple fractures, and a 6 in. deep hole in his right leg. Apparently Employee #1, who had first performed this procedure earlier that day, had, upon leaving the job site, turned the ignition key to the second position and not the first, causing the truck to start up when he tapped the switch on the tow bar. The job was normally performed by two people just by driving the vehicle forward until it lined up with the hitch. The employer was cited for a general violation of T8CCR 3203(a)(7), for failure to provide training and instruction on the equipment in use.

Keywords: FRACTURE, CONSTRUCTION, STARTED IN GEAR, BACK, CAUGHT BETWEEN, TRUCK, PELVIS, UNTRAINED, INATTENTION, TOWED EQUIPMENT