Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302383542 - Becco Contractors, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Oklahoma City Area Office

Investigation Summary

On May 11, 1999, Employee #1 was part of a concrete construction crew in the final stages of removing and replacing numerous sections of concrete curbs and gutters in a residential neighborhood. They had replaced about 12,500 linear feet of curb and gutter in a several square block area within this neighborhood, and were sawing expansion joints in the concrete curbs and gutters and sealing them with caulk. The crew's set-up truck, in which they carried material and equipment (and occasionally coworkers), broke down, and they pulled it out of the way, to a spot where their mechanic could work on it. A handheld abrasive saw, caulk guns, and caulk tubes were loaded into the back of the foreman's pick-up. Five of the crew got into the rear of this pickup truck, with Employee #1 and 2 coworkers sitting on the lowered tailgate. The foreman drove to the next location to seal more curbs and gutters. They completed the work at this location and were driving to the next one when the support strap(s) for the tailgate failed and it unexpectedly dropped a few inches under the weight of the three men. The sudden drop and forward motion of the truck caused Employee #1 to fall off the tailgate. He was facing away from the truck's direction of travel and he fell on his back, striking his head on the asphalt pavement as he landed. Employee #1 was killed. It could not be established if the straps, one on each side of the tailgate, were in place and functional before the accident, but afterward both tailgate straps were broken.

Keywords: HEAD, TAILGATE, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, RIDING ON EQUIPMENT, TRUCK, FALL, PICKUP TRUCK, MOTOR VEHICLE, UNSTABLE POSITION