Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310939038 - L S Construction Services, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Kansas City Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:30 p.m. on February 18, 2008, Employee #1 was working for LS Construction Services, Inc., at a construction site in Sugar Creek, MO. He was operating a large older Caterpillar model 769B, 35-ton, off-road dump truck. He had no previous experience operating this type of equipment, and he had just been trained in its use on the day of the accident. The construction project involved tunneling into the earth and excavating rock and dirt to create underground storage, office, and light industrial space for commercial lease or rent. The project was similar to mining, except that the company made no use of the excavated materials. The work being performed by Employee #1 on the day of the accident consisted of driving into this underground tunnel, accepting a load of excavated materials, driving to the top of what was essentially an enormous spoil pile, and then depositing the load on the side of the pile. He backed over the edge of a steep incline, and the truck toppled and fell approximately 200 to 300 feet down an embankment. Employee #1 was partially ejected from the cab of the truck, which came to rest on top of him at the bottom of the hill. The inaccessibility of the truck's resting place and the need for specialized heavy equipment delayed the recovery of Employee #1's body until the following morning.

Keywords: EJECTED, EMBANKMENT, ROLL-OVER, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, INEXPERIENCE, TRUCK, DUMP TRUCK, BACKING UP, TRUCK DRIVER