A customer truck driver was engulfed in sand when he walked behind his tractor trailer while dumping a load of concrete sand at a Trinity Materials, Inc mine in Ferris, Texas.
MSHA provided a detail report into the accident that happened at the Cottonwood mine, a surface open pit, sand facility owned and operated by Trinity Materials, Inc.
[caption id="attachment_86979" align="alignright" width="354"]
A customer truck driver was engulfed in sand when he walked behind his tractor trailer while dumping a load of concrete sand[/caption]
The accident occurred because the customer truck driver did not maintain a safe distance from the rear of trailer where the sand material was being unloaded, says MSHA in its report into the accident that occured on March 14, 2017.
Julio C Flores (age 52), a customer truck driver, was fatally injured when he exited the cab of his tractor trailer, walked to the rear of the trailer, and was engulfed by sand dumped from his trailer.
Sand and gravel is removed from the pit by excavators and loaded into haul trucks. The material is taken to the dump hopper where it is then transported via an overland belt to the screening plant. The wet screening plant separates the material into masonry sand, concrete sand, pea gravel, and 1 inch rock. The finished material is loaded into over the road haul trucks and transported to other sites for use in construction. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) completed the regular inspection at Cottonwood #1204 mine on March 7, 2017.
DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT
Julio C. Flores, a customer truck driver/owner operator, arrived at the Cottonwood 1204 mine on March 14, 2017, at approximately 5:30 a.m., to get a load of concrete sand. Flores traveled to the load out area and a Cottonwood mine employee using a front end loader, dumped two loader buckets of concrete sand, weighing approximately 27 tons, into his end dump trailer. Once loaded, Flores traveled to the scale to receive his invoice. Scale House Operator/Office Assistant Pam Isaaks radioed to Flores and said he would need to get an empty weight of the truck and trailer because company policy states “an empty weight is required every 14 days,” which was prompted by the computer system.
Flores exited the scale and drove his tractor trailer to the designated area where drivers are instructed to dump. This was the last contact anyone at the mine site had with the victim until the body was discovered at 11:43 a.m. The truck had been spotted by various personnel in the raised position over the course of approximately six hours.
There were no eyewitnesses to the accident. The following is a list of events based on the investigation, observations and interviews.
Once at the dump area, it appears Flores set the park brakes on the end dump trailer and engaged the trailer’s power take-off (PTO). Flores then set the revolution per minute (RPM) on the truck’s engine to approximately 1600 rpms to allow the trailer to ascend faster. Flores exited the cab wearing his hard hat, carrying his safety vest and gloves and walked alongside of the truck to pull the air valve to release the air actuated “dogs” or latches for the dump gate. As the trailer was rising, Flores apparently walked to the rear of the dump trailer and was engulfed by the sand from the trailer.
At 10:56 am, Henry Casarres, Lead Man, was notified by a miner that the truck and trailer had been in the same spot with the engine running and dump bed in the air for several hours. Casarres went to the location of the truck. He could not locate the driver and called Robert Villa, Plant Manager, to explain the situation. Villa instructed Isaaks to contact CKJ trucking, the haul broker. CKJ Trucking Manager Clint De Lange called Flore’s cell phone which could be heard ringing in the cab of the truck. Since mine employees had already searched the mine, Villa instructed Casarres to start digging in the dump pile behind the trailer. At approximately 11:20 a.m., Casarres went to the lunch room to get shovels and the mine employees began digging. Mine management called the MSHA Dallas field office and told them they had a man missing.
At 11:43 am Flores was found at the bottom of the pile of dumped concrete sand and 911 was called. Mine employees began first aid on Flores until it was determined he had no pulse. Kaufman County EMS and Sheriffs along with Rosser Volunteer Fire Department arrived at the scene a short time later.
The autopsy results indicated no trauma to the head or body and the cause of death was listed as mechanical asphyxia and smothering.
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS
MSHA conducted a root cause analysis and the following root cause was identified:
Root Cause: The customer truck driver failed to stand clear of the trailer gate while unloading material.
Corrective Action: Evaluate the effectiveness of Site-Specific Hazard Awareness Training provided to customer truck drivers to ensure that all hazards associated with each task are identified and understood. Customer truck drivers should follow warning signs and equipment labels and follow company’s policies and procedures while on mining properties.
CONCLUSION
A customer truck driver was engulfed in sand when he walked behind his tractor trailer while dumping a load of concrete sand. The accident occurred because the customer truck driver did not maintain a safe distance from the rear of trailer where the sand material was being unloaded.
