Inspection Detail

Inspection: 317582997 - Maryland Department Of Transportation

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

On November 14, 2013, Employee #1, a 50-year-old male and Employee # 2, a 38-year-old male with Maryland Department of Transportation, were part of a highway maintenance crew, who were assigned to replace a highway speed limit sign alongside the I-695 Outer Loop, near the Putty Hill Avenue Overpass. The crew parked their work truck on the right shoulder beside lane #3; the vehicle was parked there for approximately twenty-five minutes prior to the incident. The truck was equipped with an amber light, mounted on top of the work truck that was on at the time of the incident. The work truck however, was not equipped with a traffic attenuator. There were no advance traffic warning signs or cone tapers, in place, to warn motorists of the shoulder closure, and no effort was made to divert traffic away from the shoulder closure, per MUTCD requirements. In addition, there was no shadow vehicle, equipped with a vehicle mounted impact attenuator, parked behind their work truck. Employee #1 and Employee #2 were standing on the shoulder at the rear of the work truck, with Employee #2, standing at the rear of the work truck, holding the base of the sign post. Suddenly, a motorist struck Employee #2, throwing him approximately 40 ft onto an earthen embankment, before striking Employee #1. Employee #1 was crushed to death between the rear of his work truck and the front bumper of the motorist's car. According to Maryland State Police, the driver was adjusting her driver's side mirror, which had been knocked loose by a mechanical brush at a carwash a short while before this incident occurred. Employee #2 was treated for musculoskeletal injuries in the emergency room, at the University of MD, Shock Trauma Center and released the same day.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HIGHWAY, VEHICLE, CONSTRUCTION, AUTOMOBILE, STRUCK BY, HIGHWAY SHOULDER