Tire Wear Fatality File

A 45-year-old heavy equipment mechanic died when an equipment tire exploded. The equipment tire involved in the incident was photographed and examined. The employer of the victim was a general engineering contractor specializing in agricultural construction, earth moving, and landfill. The company had been in business for 18 years and had 200 employees. The company had been at the construction site where the incident took place for approximately 12 months. The victim had worked for the company for eight years. His first two years were spent as a janitor before being promoted to a heavy equipment mechanic-in-training, where he participated in on-the-job training (OJT) under the guidance of the company’s senior heavy equipment mechanics for five years. He was determined to be a qualified mechanic and had driven his own truck for the past year and a half.