Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120322797 - Santa Clarita Community College District

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:45 a.m. on June 10, 2004, Employee #1, a custodian at a community college, was performing his regularly assigned duties to clean and maintain the school's facilities. He drove the cart to the physical education (PE) building on campus, the first assignment for the day, stopping about 4 or 5 feet from the PE building in order to charge the cart's 48-volt battery. He planned to clean the PE building while the cart was charging. The electric cart was a 1970's, two passenger, long bed type, Serial Number 202189, Model Number 264, Westinghouse Electric Corporation design. As Employee #1 used a 100-foot extension cord that was coiled on the floor of the cart to plug it into the charger on the side of the building, the cart moved forward and pinned him against the wall of the building with his back facing the cart. He was able to turn around and push the cart into reverse, which dragged him 15 feet before stopping. Employee #1 was hospitalized and treated for an injured left shoulder and a broken right ankle and fibula. He was released 5 days later. There were no witnesses. During the accident investigation, Employee #1 stated that he recalled the cart being in neutral with the emergency brake engaged, as well as the ignition key was in the ON position with the key removed. The cause of the accident may have been due to the weight of the extension cord pushing down the cart's accelerator, while at the same time Employee #1 pulled the cord to get a better reach and the shifter was pushed into the forward position.

Keywords: JANITOR, FRACTURE, SHOULDER, PINNED, CORD SET, CAUGHT BETWEEN, STRUCK BY, ANKLE, CART, LEG