Driver Safety – The Dangers of Loose Cargo Fatality File

Employee is crushed and killed by falling load

At 2:48 a.m. on October 14, 2022, an employee, a semi-truck driver, was loosening and removing the tie down straps securing a load which consisted of two 58-foot, 6-inch traffic signal cross arm structures from his flatbed trailer. After the load was unstrapped, the structure on the passenger side of the trailer fell inward, hitting the structure on the driver’s side of the trailer, causing it to fall off the trailer.

The upper beam portion of the structure swung down, struck and crushed the employee who had been standing on the ground. The employee died due to his injuries.

Source:  https://www.osha.gov