A haul truck driver was killed while working on his vehicle because the mine operator failed to ensure that machinery was blocked before repair work began.
U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) investigators determined that the driver was attempting to repair an air bag assembly when a piece of it slid off and struck him as the air bag rapidly inflated.
Despite the fact that the driver was a customer and didn’t work for the mine, MSHA held the mine operator responsible for failing to ensure that machinery was blocked against hazardous motion before the driver began repair work.
Part of assembly slid off and struck him on the head
On June 1, 2023, Ricardo Martinez, a haul truck driver for KK Trucking, was picking up a load of materials at the Hockley Plant, a surface construction sand and gravel mine located in Harris County, Texas.
Martinez arrived at the mine at 11:06 a.m. and parked his truck near the breakroom building where drivers wait for their trucks to be loaded.
Sometime before noon, Martinez was seen entering the breakroom to retrieve a blue mat that customer truck drivers often used to lay on the ground to perform maintenance or inspect their trucks. Martinez took the mat outside and laid it between the rear dual tires of the truck, which was still running, so he could attempt to loosen a part on the right rear passenger side suspension assembly.
While he was pushing on the part, Martinez inadvertently actuated the valve that allows air to inflate the air bag. The air bag rapidly inflated the suspension assembly, causing a component of the system to slide off its mounting bracket and strike Martinez on the right side of his head and neck.
At the same time, two other truck drivers arrived and parked near Martinez’s truck. As they climbed out of their trucks, they saw Martinez under the truck and realized he was injured. They called 9-1-1 and emergency responders arrived at 1:02 p.m. Martinez was transported to the hospital via helicopter where he was pronounced dead at 1:49 p.m.
Missing bolt was source of the problem
MSHA investigators determined that the right rear passenger side suspension assembly on Martinez’s truck had a missing mounting bolt that was improperly installed. They believed that this bolt became dislodged during travel at some point off the mine site, as it couldn’t be found during the investigation.
The mine operator didn’t ensure that machinery was blocked against hazardous motion before Martinez began his repair work, which contributed to the incident, according to MSHA. No other mechanical defects that could have contributed to the incident were found.
Repair work by customer drivers no longer allowed on site
Investigators found that the root cause of the incident was the mine operator’s failure to ensure that customer truck drivers blocked machinery against hazardous motion before doing repair work.
To prevent a similar incident, the mine established a new procedure preventing anyone who isn’t an employee or a designated contractor from performing repair work while on the mine’s property.
The mine trained all customer truck drivers on the new procedure.
