Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315345058 - Angelos Towing And Recovery

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:39 a.m. on Saturday, June 2, 2012, Employee #1 was operating a tow truck for Angelos Towing and Recovery, in San Diego, CA. Angelos Towing and Recovery provided towing services for cars, trucks, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, and commercial trucks throughout the San Diego County area. Employee #1 and his supervisor were both fulltime employees of Angelos Towing and Recovery. Employee #1 was preparing a 1992 Suncruiser recreational vehicle for towing. Recreational vehicle and commercial trucks had to have their drive shafts removed before towing to prevent damage to the transmission. Accordingly, Employee #1 was disengaging the drive shaft from the differential on this recreational vehicle. He had not, however, blocked the drive shaft effectively, to ensure that the drive shaft was secured to prevent it from falling on him. As Employee #1 was removing the last bolt connecting the shaft and the yoke, the drive shaft fell on his face. Employee #1 sustained facial fractures, and he was transported to UCSD hospital. Employee #1 sustained a fractured right cheek bone that required surgery and a stay of four days at UCSD Hospital. He had surgery on June 5, 2012, for facial fractures on the right side of his face. These fractures involved the orbital wall and floor, zygoma, maxilla, hard palate, and nasal bone. The Division was notified of the incident at 2:19 p.m. on June 2, 2012.

Keywords: FRACTURE, AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR, NOSE, AUTOMOBILE, STRUCK BY, TOW TRUCK, FACE, FALLING OBJECT, TRUCK DRIVER, UNSTABLE POSITION