Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301333043 - J V Land Clearing Co

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:30 p.m. on August 26, 2004, Employee #1, part owner of J V Land Clearing Company located in Dimas, California, was using a D-6 Caterpillar bulldozer to clear brush in very rough and hilly terrain when, for unknown reasons, the dozer overturned and rolled part way down the hill. During this rollover, Employee #1 either jumped out or was ejected from the dozer cab, probably through the missing right window. The right window was located intact near the area where the dozer rolled over. Employee #2, the witness, said he saw the dozer on its side and was climbing up the hill to investigate when the dozer righted itself and continued down that hill and part way up the next hill before it tipped over and came to rest against some trees. Employee #2 ran to where Employee #3, another coworker, was working. Employee #3 called the J V Land Clearing office, and they called Emergency Services. Employee #1 was pronounced dead by the West Covina Fire Department at 2:01 p.m. Employee #1 had about 25 years of experience operating heavy equipment like the Caterpillar D-6 dozer. On September 2, 2004, after several tries, the dozer was righted and driven to a safe staging area, where a preliminary inspection was made of the cab and the seat belt. Other than the missing window, the cab was in good condition. The safety belt was buckled and pulled on, and it stayed locked. Later the general contractor, Yeager/Skanska Inc. of Riverside, California, had the dozer hauled by a trailer to Quinn Shepherd, a Caterpillar repair facility in Whittier, California, and had the above equipment safety checked. All of the critical components were in good working order including the seat belt and the roll over protection.

Keywords: HEAD, ROLL-OVER, ROPS, LANDFILL, SEAT BELT, BULLDOZER, CONCUSSION