Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310606447 - Buena Vista Landscape Inc

Inspection Information - Office: San Bernardino District Office

Investigation Summary

At 2:05 p.m. on March 20, 2009, Employee #1 was employed by Buena Vista Landscape Inc. of Placentia, California. The employer was primarily engaged in landscape service subcontracting for general contractors with contracts for the city, county and the state. A motorist was driving a car on the I-15 freeway travelling southbound when he veered-off from lane 2 and struck the work truck (a Ford F-250 Pickup) that was parked in an established safety zone. Employee #1 was stepping down from the work truck when he was struck by the motorist at a turn-out spot on top of the southbound on ramp. The car ran into the driver's side of the truck. The impact of the speeding car (approximately 65 mph) against the truck pushed the truck off the turn out and down to the bottom of the embankment that was approximately 45-feet high. The front left end of the truck slammed against the block wall. While the truck went over the embankment, Employee #1 was ejected out of the vehicle and he slammed through the motorist's windshield and landed on the motorist's lap, along with a section of the windshield. Employee #1 presumed that one of the motorists on the freeway called emergency medical services. The paramedics from the Fire Department responded to the scene within minutes. Employee #1 was airlifted to the Loma Linda Medical Center where he underwent multiple surgeries and hospitalization for a period of three months. Employee #1's leg was amputated. Employee #1 was confined to an acute rehabilitation facility after his hospitalization for nineteen days.

Keywords: EJECTED, FRACTURE, AMPUTATED, TRAFFIC ACCIDENT, STRUCK BY, MOTOR VEHICLE, CONTUSION, LEG