Inspection Detail

Inspection: 305539165 - Vermont Agency Of Transportation

Inspection Information - Office: Vt Department Of Labor - Vosha

Investigation Summary

On June 8, 2005, Employees #1 and a coworker, employees of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, were mowing along Vermont Route 131 where it passes under Interstate 91 at the exit for the town of Ascutney. The two workers established a work zone area with roadside signage, warning lights, and PPE that included highly visible clothing. After mowing for about an hour, Employee #1 determined that his lawn mower was low on motor oil. He stood in the shoulder of the roadway behind a 6-wheel state-owned dump truck hitched to a 14-foot landscaping trailer to service the lawn mower. The operator of a cube-type truck van delivering bread lost control of the vehicle and drove the truck into the shoulder of the road, striking Employee #1 from behind. The impact threw Employee #1's body 42 feet. His head and body struck the steel railings of the landscape trailer. He sustained multiple injuries and fractures, including injuries to his head, chest, upper and lower extremities, and face over the left eye, as well as other internal chest injuries. He was flown by helicopter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He was hospitalized.

Keywords: CHEST, FRACTURE, HEAD, MAINTENANCE, LAWN MOWER, TRUCK, STRUCK BY, FACE, HIGHWAY SHOULDER, MOTOR VEHICLE