Charges dropped in fatal dump truck accident

On behalf of Tomkiel & Tomkiel posted in Construction Accidents on Wednesday, January 29, 2014.

As we have previously noted, there are many ways to be injured or killed on a construction site. From falls to being crushed by heavy equipment, workers safety demands constant vigilance on the part of everyone on the work site. The more unusual risks, caused by defective or poorly maintained equipment are dangerous and certainly kill and maim far too many workers, but sometimes, it may be the ordinary that is just as deadly.

A large number of workers are killed every year in construction accidents involving motor vehicle accidents on and around construction site. While falls tend to kill in injury many workers, accidents involving all variety of motor vehicles pose a significant threat to all construction workers.

This is not surprising, because on many job sites, workers have to drive while on the site and many have to drive to other sites or to pick up supplies, tools and other equipment. They are exposed to the risk of negligent drivers on the streets and highways, just as every driver and they are also at risk on construction sites, where there may be no “roads” and vehicles and trucks are everywhere.

At a construction site in Wyoming, one man was run over and killed by the driver of a dump truck on a site. The driver had been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, apparently because he had spent the previous night drinking and prosecutors must have believed he was still drunk when he caused the fatal accident.

A judge dismissed the charges because of a lack of evidence concerning the truck driver’s actual intoxication level at the time of the accident. She also noted there was insufficient evidence as to whether his driving was reckless.

Was the truck driver drunk? We will never know for sure, but it serves as a reminder that what would be a pedestrian accident if it occurred away from a job site can kill you just the same on a site.

Source: Billingsgazette.com, “Charge dismissed in fatal Gillette construction accident,” Associated Press, January 26, 2014