Gruesome construction incident: Worker partially decapitated
December 12, 2011 by Fred HosierPosted in: Bizarre Accident of the Week, Fatality, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
PDF OSHA and local police are investigating a fatal injury to a worker at a residential construction site.
The unidentified worker was in the driver’s seat of the cab of a truck parked in a residential neighborhood in North Bergen, NJ, when a cable pulling a trash container onto the truck snapped and whipped through the back windshield, according to police.
The severed cable struck the worker in the back of the head, partially decapitating him and causing massive trauma. The worker was pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck was marked Champion Construction of Ridgefield, NJ. A supervisor for the company says the driver was working as a subcontractor hired to remove the trash container.
The container was filled with construction debris from renovations to a house.
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Tags: cable snapped, decapitated, massive trauma, severed cable
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December 14th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Man, talk about wrong place at the wrong time. I am sad for the victim and his family. Was the cable not inspected regularly? It seems like if it had been, it would be clear that it was frayed and needing replacing.
December 21st, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Working a cable winch from the cab of a truck is always risky. If the container was “too heavy” for the cable being used then a failure is very likely. Operator experience/training plus equipment inspection is very important. Sad for the victim and family.