Haul/Off Road/Coal/Ore/Pit/Quarry/Rock/Rubber Tire Truck Driver

Victim was caught between track hoe bucket and haul truck. An excavator was loading material in a haul truck parked in the pit. When the victim exited the truck, he was struck by the bucket of the excavator and pinned against the truck.

Harold Steege, Truck Driver, age 58, was killed at this operation on April 17, 2014. Steege was standing outside the cab of a dump truck that he had just parked at the pit. He was waiting for an excavator to load the truck with material. Steege was struck by the excavator bucket and crushed between the excavator bucket and the truck. The accident occurred due to management’s failure to establish safe work procedures for truck drivers waiting to be loaded in the pit. Steege left the protection of his truck’s cab and was crushed when the loading process began.

1. Management failed to implement a policy to ensure that truck drivers remained in their trucks while being loaded, and failed to task train truck drivers on safe load out operation procedures.

   Corrective action: Management established procedures for truck drivers to follow, including remaining in their trucks, during load out operations. All truck drivers were trained regarding these procedures.

2. Management failed to establish procedures to ensure that excavator operators would not begin any loading activity if a truck driver left the protection of the cab of the truck, and failed to task train task excavator operators on safe load out operation procedures.

   Corrective action: Management established procedures to ensure that excavator operators would not load any trucks if the truck driver left the protection of the cab of the truck. All excavator operators were trained regarding these procedures.

Findings from MSHA's final investigation report, which supersedes the preliminary narrative above.

Activity at time of incident

Walking, Running

Subunit / location

STRIP, QUARY, OPEN PIT

Accident type

Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Source of injury

SURFACE MINING MACHINES

Nature of injury

CRUSHING

Body part affected

MULTIPLE PARTS (MORE THAN ONE MAJOR)

Total mining experience

4 years

Experience at this mine

4 years

Experience in this job

4 years

Degree of injury

FATALITY