Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304551450 - Atlantic Scrap And Processing Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Winston-Salem

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:45 a.m. on December 6, 2001, Employee #1 was working on the yard of a local scrap metal processing facility as a spotter and brakeman, relocating and repositioning rail cars on the spur tracks located on the company's yard. A fellow employee was operating a Caterpillar 980C Front End Wheel Loader to move rail cars along the spur track to position them for later use and to facilitate necessary movement around the yard. After positioning "high-side" cars on one spur, the operator told Employee #1 that they needed to separate two "low-side" cars on the spur next to the "high-side" spur. The two had conversed about disconnecting the cars on the "low-side" spur so they could be separated. Employee #1 was going to set up the cars for this activity while the operator would drive around the row of cars and set up to push one of the cars with the loader to take pressure off of the coupling. The operator would drive around the row of cars heading north. He said that he clearly saw that the roadway was clear. He continued to drive along in second gear at a speed of approximately 2 to 4 miles per hour until he unknowingly struck and ran over Employee #1. He then quickly looked to the left where he saw a yellow hard hat rolling away from the left rear area of the loader. He stopped the loader, got out of the cab and found Employee #1 lying on the ground. Employee #1 was killed.

Keywords: YARDING, FRONT END LOADER, RAIL, RAILROAD CAR, RAILROAD TRACK, STRUCK BY, POOR VISIBILITY