County Highway Department Worker Crushed When Dump Trailer and Truck Tipped Over

On June 6, 1995, a 47-year-old county highway department worker was crushed when the dump trailer and truck he was directing tipped over onto him. The victim was part of a five-man crew installing a culvert drain across a county road. As the trailer began to dump the load of fill around the culvert drain pipe, the fill dirt on the right side remained in the bed while the fill on the left side began sliding out. This caused the trailer to be unstable and it started to tip over. The victim, who was standing at the rear of the trailer, may have seen what was happening and ran towards the truck cab along side the trailer bed. The truck, to which the trailer was connected, tipped over with the trailer, pinning the victim underneath the truck. Emergency personnel were called to the scene and extricated the victim. Shortly after the victim was freed from underneath the truck, the victim began hemorrhaging internally and died at the scene.The MO FACE Investigator concluded that in order to prevent similar occurrences, employers should:

• require employees to immediately alert the operator when loaded material in a dump trailer or truck becomes lodged within the dump bed during dumping operations;
• develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive safety and health plan that includes, but is not limited to, the hazards associated with operation of heavy equipment.