Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302766043 - Acme Materials And Construction Company

Inspection Information - Office: Denver Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:30 a.m. on July 7, 1999, Employee #1, a project superintendent for Acme Materials & Construction Position, died when he was struck by a moving truck at a job site located on a section westbound off interstate 70. This two-lane road section had been closed off to public traffic due to construction. Early that morning, Employee #1 drove his pickup truck to the job site to check on the rottomilling crew that had worked overnight cutting the south shoulder of I-70 by using a CAT rottomill machine. This crew consisted of an operator, laborer, and the foreman who worked for a subcontractor called Midwest Asphalt Corporation. At the site, Employee #1 set a transit level on the rear end of a water truck which was parked on the north shoulder of the road. He was "shooting grade" for the rottomilling machine to establish the proper slope of the road. The foreman from Midwest was holding the rod while Employee #1 was "shooting grade" with the transit level. At approximately 7:30 a.m., the service truck operator drove eastbound toward the job site to fuel two pieces of heavy equipment that were just up ahead of the jobsite. When the service truck emerged through the work section between the water truck parked on the north shoulder and the rottomill machine on the south shoulder, the foreman, from Midwest, walked towards the south shoulder in back of the CAT machine to clear the way for the oncoming truck. Employee #1 was standing on the north shoulder and presumably walked and bumped into the side of the moving truck. Employee #1 was thrown onto the roadway and rolled into an unoccupied water truck that was parked on the north shoulder. He landed beside the passenger front tire of the water service truck in a diagonal position. His legs were partly underneath the water truck and his torso and head were facing up outside the truck. The driver of the service truck heard the impact and hit the brakes to stop the truck. He went over to help Employee #1. Employee #1 sustained trauma to his head and died. Upon learning of the incident, Midwest's foreman called for medical assistance and the driver of the service truck provided CPR until an ambulance and the Colorado State Patrol arrived to take over.

Keywords: TRUCK, STRUCK BY