Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302678305 - Devils Lake Rock Company

Inspection Information - Office: Or-E-Salem 1054100

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:30 p.m. on May 3, 1999, Employee #1, a shovel operator, died after being crushed by a dump truck. Two workers were in the process of shoring up a beach front property with huge boulders. In addition to serving as a shovel operator, Employee #1 was also responsible for transferring the huge rocks to the area that was being shored. His co-worker was a truck driver that was bringing in boulders to a staging site near the property that needed to be shored. His co-worker came into the staging site to deliver a load. After he dumped the load, he started experiencing problems. He was not able to lower the dump box. Employee #1 noticed this and instructed his co-worker to move forward so that he could get out of the muddy area where the dump truck was parked. Employee #1 then told his co-worker he was going to get a piece of cardboard out of his personal vehicle so he could get under the truck and work on the valve linkage so the dump box could be lowered. As Employee #1 worked under the truck, his co-worker pulled ahead slowly, stopped the truck, stepped out of the truck's cab. He noticed that Employee #1 was pinned underneath the truck's fuel tank. He ran to a nearby house and summoned assistance. Paramedics were called to the scene. Fire Department personnel arrived within two to three minutes. They attempted to revive him but were not successful. Employee #1 died at the scene.

Keywords: ASPHYXIATED, CRUSHED, DUMP TRUCK