Inspection Detail

Inspection: 588964.015 - Waste Pro Usa, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Fort Lauderdale Area Office

Investigation Summary

On August 17, 2012, Employee #1 was working for a firm that picked up garbage. He was part of a two-man crew operating a recycling vehicle along an unimproved residential roadway. Employee #1 was working as a helper, and his coworker was driving the truck. This stretch of road was part of their normal weekly route. The vehicle had dual steering wheels, and brake and gas pedals. It could be operated from both the left-hand and right-hand operator compartments. The driver provided a narrative of what happened. At the time of the incident, the vehicle was being driven by the primary driver from the left-hand crew compartment. As the vehicle approached two recycling bins on the side of the road, Employee #1, who was sitting in the right-hand seat of the crew compartment, used the steering wheel to help lift himself to a standing position. This act caused the vehicle to swerve to the right and into a swale along the roadside. The driver overcorrected to the left, and that the vehicle rolled over. Employee #1, standing in the front right-hand crew compartment of the trash truck, was ejected and pinned under the vehicle from the waist down. A motorist stopped at the accident scene and called emergency medical services. The police and the fire department rescue squad arrived shortly thereafter. According to the driver, paramedics said that Employee #1 died at the scene. Paramedics questioned the driver at the scene for approximately three hours after they arrived. The driver added that neither he nor Employee #1 were wearing seatbelts. Wearing a seatbelt is not a provision of ANSI consensus standards. The company does not require the use of a seatbelt when the vehicle is making frequent stops to pick up recycled material.

Keywords: Crushed, Ejected, Emergency Response, Garbage Truck, Lost Control, Motor Vehicle, Pinned, Steering Wheel, Traffic Accident