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Father Operating Faulty Crane Lead to Son’s Death

Three men hug near where the bodies of two workers were recovered after they died when their crane-hoisted lift basket fell 80 feet at a bridge construction site on Putah Creek in Winters. The basket landed on timbers covering a 30-foot hole dug for footings for the new span. The 10-worker crew included the father of one of the men killed, said Richard Disney, president of Burlingame-based Disney Construction, which was building the bridge. HECTOR AMEZCUA https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article124001954.html

2014

California OSHA cited Disney Construction, Inc. $106,110 for serious violations following the deaths of two employees who fell 80 feet from a crane-hoisted platform at a bridge construction site.

The Sacramento District Cal-OSHA Office’s investigation found:

  1. Disney Construction’s crane had not been certified or visually inspected for defects to satisfy current testing and examination standards.
  2. The crane operator failed to perform an unmanned trial run or have a competent person inspect the rigging and platform before usage.
  3. There was no qualified, trained signal person to assist with the lifting operation.

On the day of the incident workers were using a pile driver crane when a cable broke near the top of a pile driver.

A second crane was then used to hoist a personnel platform with two workers, Marcus Powell and Glenn Hodgson, so they could troubleshoot the cable on the pile driver.

The rigging used to connect the platform to the crane dislodged, causing the platform and workers to fall some 80 feet to the ground.

2017

The crane operator, Mark Powell, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his son, Marcus, and the other victim, Glenn Hodgson. Cal-OSHA said Mark Powell used an aging crane that needed repairs and was not approved for lifting – to hoist Marcus and Glenn 80 feet into the air where the basket broke and both men fell to their deaths.

In addition to what Cal-OSHA characterized as a “long list of mechanical deficiencies,” the agency said in its report of the incident that the basket used to lift Powell and Hudson did not have a working safety latch. According to Cal-OSHA inspectors, Disney supervisors failed to inspect the crane and personnel lifting equipment, which they determined was “the root cause of the accident.” https://www.constructiondive.com/news/ca-crane-operator-charged-in-fatal-accident/433201/

“Since the decision was made to use a crane and a personnel platform, the root cause of the accident was the failure to survey and inspect the equipment being used and the equipment being repaired,” the agency’s inspectors concluded. https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article124001954.html