Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for New Jersey: 23-Year-Old Hispanic Road Maintenance Worker Struck by Wheel that Separated from the Trailer Axle of a Tractor-Trailer Truck

摘要

On June 19, 2007, a 23-year-old male Hispanic public employee was killed when he was struck by a wheel and tire assembly that had separated from the axle of a flatbed pulled by a tractor-trailer truck. The victim was a laborer working on a road maintenance crew. On the day of the incident, the victim and one other worker were trimming grass with string trimmers on the southbound highway berm underneath an overpass, approximately six feet from a major New Jersey highway. A tractor-trailer truck was traveling in the southbound right lane of the highway when two tandem wheels separated from the rear axle of the trailer. One of the wheels struck the victim in the head, propelling him approximately 30 feet from the point of impact. The tire was found 43 feet south of the victim's body, and approximately 73 feet from the point of impact. The second tire was found further south on the median of the highway. NJ FACE investigators recommend following these safety guidelines to prevent similar incidents: (1) Employers of roadway work crews should assign a 'spotter' to observe oncoming traffic; and workers should be trained to face oncoming traffic, whenever possible. (2) A safety and health plan based on a job hazard analysis should be developed by the employer and followed for each highway work zone where workers are assigned tasks. (3) State highway authorities should consider reducing speed limits in maintenance work zones on high-traffic highways.