Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313644262 - Ventura Transfer Company

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:53 p.m. on November 16, 2011, Employee #1 was involved in unloading operations at the facility's concrete complex, which housed the wash rack, shop and office. The first coworker, a truck driver, parked his loaded truck and trailer on the northeast side of the concrete complex. Near the wash rack area, another coworker, a heavy forklift operator, instructed the second coworker, another truck driver, about where to unload his load and to wait for the loaded truck behind him to pass him. The forklift operator then walked around this coworker's truck and into the wash rack area. The second coworker's truck cleared the rear of first coworker's trailer. Next, Employee #1 instructed another truck driver, who parked behind the first coworker's truck, to pass the first coworker's truck and park his truck in an area in front of second coworker's truck for unloading. After instructing this truck driver, Employee #1 radioed one of the coworkers, when the forklift operator approached the parked trucks from behind to unload them. Employee #1 attempted to instruct one of the coworkers, where to go, but the other coworkers were having difficulty hearing each other over the radio because of the activity in the immediate area. To hear one of the coworkers, Employee #1 moved away from the traffic and behind the immediate passenger rear area of a truck trailer. This coworker saw a truck behind him pass him in the yard. He then looked behind him using the driver side mirror and backed his truck and trailer up. As he backed up approximately 50 ft, he felt that he had ran over something. The coworker stopped his truck and exited to see employees running towards the rear of his truck with a hydraulic jack. The coworker rounded the truck's driver-side rear and saw the bottom half of employee #1's body between the two rear passenger-side tires of his truck's trailer. Emergency medical personnel were summoned to the scene. They arrived and transported Employee #1 to a medical center, where underwent surgery for a crushed pelvis and debridement of lower extremities. During emergency surgery, Employee #1 suffered a massive cardiac arrest and died.

Keywords: DRIVER, TRUCK, STRUCK BY, TRACTOR TRAILER