Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312722267 - Veolia Es Solid Waste Midwest, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

Between 6:15 and 7:10 a.m. CST, on January 7, 2009, a 53-year-old refuse truck driver was working alone. A refuse container disconnected from the rear of the truck. The English speaking driver had 27 years of experience. He was standing at the hoist/packer controls located at the right rear side of the truck when the unsecured container trunnion bar slipped from the truck. The wire rope hoisted the container then tipped to the right, rotated 180 degrees with the rear of the container coming to rest toward the front of the truck and with the hoist line remaining connected to the container. The container was found bottom side down between a hardened snow pile and leaning against the truck at an angle of approximately 40 degrees. The driver was found laying on his left side, with his back adjacent to the rear wheels and his feet to the rear of the rear wheels by another refuse driver. Emergency medical services were summoned, and the injured driver was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The root cause of the accident was failure to secure the container to the truck.

Keywords: WIRE ROPE, LOAD SHIFT, TRUCK, TRASH COMPACTOR, CONTAINERIZED CARGO