Accident: 170401574 - Crushed Between Backhoe Bucket And Outrigger

Employee #1 had gotten off the backhoe he was operating and left the motor running. He was killed when he was struck by the backhoe and crushed between the bucket and outrigger.

backhoe, crushed, unmanned, construction, vehicle in gear, backhoe bucket, outrigger, caught between, work rules, brake

Accident: 116211962 - Crushed And Killed Under Truck

Employee #1 was working on the starter of a Freightliner truck cab, which was supported by a wooden ramp under the front wheel on the driver's side. The truck wheels were not chocked, and the truck did not have brakes. While Employee #1 was underneath the truck, it rolled forward and pinned him in place. He was crushed and killed.

truck, vehicle, automotive repair, chock, brake, work rules, pinned, crushed, unsecured, motor vehicle

Accident: 170003651 - Killed When Crushed Between Towmotor And Aircraft

Employee #1, an 18-year-old ramp agent with Alaska Airlines, was transporting and loading some last-minute baggage. He pulled his towmotor perpendicular to the airplane and dismounted. He was unloading a bag from the baggage tug when the vehicle started to move toward the plane. In an effort to stop it, Employee #1 ran between it and the airplane and tried to fend it off with his arms. He was crushed between the tug and the aircraft. Employee #1 was declared dead at the scene. He had set the parking brake on the tug, but had left it running and in gear; apparently the parking brake lever had disengaged. Employee #1 had been working in this position for one month prior to the accident.

aircraft, mech malfunction, crushed, work rules, vehicle in gear, caught between, towmotor, unmanned, off loading, brake

Accident: 170010094 - Leg Severed By Lowboy Trailer

Employee #1, a flagger for Kiewit Construction, was struck by a lowboy trailer that an employee of another company had just loaded with a backhoe. Her leg was amputated in the accident. The driver had not set the brake, nor chocked the wheels, of the lowboy.

trailer, struck by, unmanned, work rules, vehicle, leg, amputated, flagman, brake, chock

Accident: 123299703 - Killed When Run Over By Rolling Tow Truck

On January 30, 2000, Employee #1, a tow truck driver for Johnny's Auto Body, was trying to extricate a police cruiser from snow. As he hooked up the cruiser and began to move it, the cruiser slid into a telephone pole. Employee #1 then unhitched the cruiser and moved his truck about 30 ft uphill on the street. While the officers examined the minor damage to the cruiser, Employee #1 walked back down the hill toward them. Meanwhile, the truck started to slide down the hill. Employee #1 yelled for the officers to get out of the way as he ran around to the side of the truck. He was pulled under the wheels and killed instantly. It is uncertain if Employee #1 applied the brakes upon leaving the vehicle or if the brakes simply failed to lock the wheels in place. The accident is still under police investigation.

truck driver, tow truck, frozen, slippery surface, slope, unmanned, run over, brake, equipment failure, work rules

Accident: 170010037 - One Killed, Two Injured, When Truck'S Brakes Fail

At approximately 7:30 p.m. on December 7, 1999, Employee #1 was riding in a truck loaded with plywood panels, metal straps, hangers, and other foundation materials. Employee #2 was driving and Employee #3 was the other passenger. The truck was heading down a grade when the brakes failed. It struck a curb at the bottom of the hill and crashed into an embankment. The load shifted, spilled over the sides, and crashed forward, crushing the truck's cab. Employee #1 was killed. Employees #2 and #3 sustained serious injuries, including fractures, contusions, and head and face injuries. A bystander helped Employee #2 out of the truck, while Employees #1 and #3 remained trapped. The loaded truck was overweight by approximately15,208 lb.

truck, overloaded, traffic accident, load shift, crushed, equipment failure, brake, construction, work rules, slope

Accident: 109335984 - Killed When Caught Between Tractor Cab And Trailer

On November 12, 1999, Employee #1, of Matson Sand Island Marine Terminal, was trying to couple a Sisu Hustler marine terminal tractor, serial #72EA099AD384, Matson ID #1679, to a Wabash flatbed trailer, serial #1JJF40278RLl210566, loaded with two flat tracks. Employee #1 had been assigned to move the trailer from Stall #27 to the container freight station. No one observed the incident, but he apparently was coupling the tractor to the trailer when he missed the kingpin. The fifth wheel of the tractor was behind the kingpin. Employee #1 was trying to free the fifth wheel from under the kingpin when he became pinned. He died of traumatic asphyxia secondary to being pinned between the cab of the tractor and the trailer. The first coworker on the scene stated that the gear stick was in reverse and the parking break had not been set. Regulations that may have prevented this accident include T8CCR 1917.44 (J): vehicle was left unattended with its engine running and without being secured against movement. This regulation does not have a training requirement. There were no industry-wide procedures in place for coupling and uncoupling. Five operating manuals, the Pacific Maritime Association, and the teamsters union all have similar, but different, steps to do the task. None address how to handle instances where the kingpin is caught behind the fifth wheel.

caught between, tractor trailer, pinned, work rules, asphyxiated, vehicle in gear, tractor--truck, longshoring, brake

Accident: 873612 - Killed When Caught Between Vehicles

Employee #1 was hooking up a semi-trailer at the end of his work shift. He backed the tractor under the trailer and then got out to hook up the air lines for the trailer brakes. When he did this, he apparently did not set the tractor brakes. He also failed to secure all the lines so that air began to bleed off. This caused the trailer safety brake to disengage and the truck apparently started to roll backward. While trying to get to the tractor and set its brakes, Employee #1 became caught between the tractor door and the front of an adjacent trailer. The preliminary cause of death, per the county coroner, was traumatic asphyxia.

trailer truck, tractor trailer, inattention, brake, caught between, asphyxiated, work rules, unmanned, air line, tractor