Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301008231 - Dsi Transport Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Wichita Area Office

Investigation Summary

A truck driver had driven his transport truck to a feedlot to unload molasses. The driver pulled the truck into the facility from the south side, with the truck facing north. The molasses was to be fed into an above-ground feed tank and a below-ground tank. The trailer, which housed a pump, was positioned directly over the below-ground tank. A screen had been installed over the tank; and, according to other drivers that deliver to this facility, the screen hinders the drivers' ability to judge how full the tank is becoming. The drivers who deliver to this facility stated that the screen did cause them to move closer to the trailer but did not require them to get under the trailer to observe the fill level of the tank. The truck driver had apparently gotten down on his hands and knees to check the level of the tank. When he did this, he positioned himself near the rotating power take-off shaft. The hood of his jacket snagged on an adjustment bolt on the shaft and pulled the driver up and over the shaft, wedging him between it and the bottom of the truck. He sustained a fractured neck and other fatal injuries and was declared dead on scene by the county coroner. There was no indication that the feedlot employer or its employees had any involvement in the accident, except that it occurred on the employer's property.

Keywords: CLOTHING, FRACTURE, ROTATING PARTS, ROTATING SHAFT, NECK, ENTANGLED, POWER TAKE-OFF