Inspection Detail

Inspection: 18051482 - C & K Industrial Services, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Cincinnati Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 died instantly when he was ejected from a flipping truck during an accident while driving to a landfill. Two employees were taking a vacuum truck load of ash slurry (mix of water and fly ash) to a landfill at the Zimmer power station in Moscow, Ohio. As they were proceeding up the haul road to the landfill, the driver, while negotiating an "S" curve in the road, lost control of the truck. The truck began to swerve back and forth across the road. The driver counter-steered to try to regain control. At one point, as the truck swerved back across the left side of the road, Employee #1 encountered two trucks from another company coming down the road. In order to avoid a head on collision with the oncoming traffic, Employee #1 swerved hard to the right side of the road. As he did so, the truck's right side wheels went off the shoulder of the road, causing the truck to flip onto its right side. The truck then slid 78 feet on its side, across the road where the cab impacted a utility pole and a guard rail. Both employees were not wearing a seat belt or shoulder harness. Employee #1 and his coworker were thrown violently. His coworker was thrown partially through the windshield, suffering multiple injuries. Employee #1 was killed instantly when the guardrail struck him upon impact. Interviews with witnesses and the surviving coworker indicate Employee #1 was not exceeding the road's posted speed limit. An inspection of the truck by the compliance officer, the police, and the company's mechanics did not indicate any equipment failure. It is not known exactly what caused Employee #1 to lose control of the truck. Some believe that the semi-liquid load's movement, as the truck negotiated curves in the road, may have been a factor. Employee #1 was experienced with this truck and this type of load.

Keywords: EJECTED, LACERATION, TRUCK, OVERTURN