Driver Dragged by Runaway

A tow truck driver was killed while trying to stop his runaway truck. Two weeks earlier, the truck’s brakes had failed at a service station and the driver jumped back in to stop it. Brake failure apparently occured again on a slope outside a wrecking yard. The driver tried to enter the cab while the truck was rolling. He was dragged about 30 feet (10 meters) before striking a parked car. He was crushed to death between the door and cab of the tow truck.

This was one of seven incidents happening within less than a year in which parked vehicles killed workers in Oregon. The state’s Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program investigated all seven cases and made these recommendations:

• Stop the engine and engage the parking brake before exiting; lower the blade or attachments on mobile machinery.
• Repair defective brakes immediately.
• Don’t trust heavy machinery or vehicles on slopes. Block and check whenever possible.
• Don’t try to jump into and stop a rolling vehicle.

Source: California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, Case Report 05CA002