UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

Rocky Mountain District


Accident Investigation Report
Surface

Fatal Powered Haulage Accident


Ritchie Sand, Inc. (Mine)
Dusenbery Trucking, Inc
at
Ritchie Sand, Inc.
Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas
I.D. No. 14-00543 ZPX

February 17, 1997

By

William Tanner, Jr.
Supervisory Mine Safety and Health Inspector

Ronald D. Pennington
Mine Safety and Health Inspector

Rocky Mountain District Office
P.O. Box 25367, DFC
Denver, CO 80225-0367

Robert M. Friend
District Manager

GENERAL INFORMATION

Steven L. Meyer, a contract truck driver, age 50 years, was fatally injured on February 17, 1997, at approximately 6:25 a.m., when he was run over by a passing end dump trailer. Meyer had a total of 20 years' experience as a tractor-trailer driver, the last 6 months with his current employer. He had hauled sand products from the Ritchie Sand, Inc., plant for approximately 5 years and had been employed by several different trucking companies during that time. He had not received training in accordance with 30 CFR, Part 48.

Aaron J. Barkus, truck superintendent for Ritchie Sand, Inc., notified MSHA of the accident on February 17, 1997, through the MSHA emergency 800 telephone number in Arlington, Virginia. An investigation was started the same day.

The Ritchie Sand, Inc., mine was located near Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. Sand was mined by means of a dredge equipped with a 200-HP cutter head mounted on a 62-foot-long ladder. Anchor spuds on the back held the dredge in place. A 1,250-HP electric motor drove the in-hull pump pushing the sand slurry 2,200 feet to shore through an 18-inch floating pipeline. It was then sized, washed, and stockpiled for sale to contractors and to the public.

Ritchie Sand, Inc., dispatched about 50 trucks from the plant daily, of which there were as many as 30 commercial contract truckers hauling sand products from the facility on a regular basis. Total mine employment was 43 persons working two, 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week. At the time of the accident, there were an estimated 40 trucks on site waiting to be loaded.

Operating officials for Ritchie Sand, Inc., were:

Hale T. Ritchie, President
Steven P. Hatfield, General Manager
Aaron J. Barkus, Truck Superintendent
Douglas W. Sommers, Safety Director
Mark Thompson, Plant Operations Manager

The victim was employed by Dusenbery Trucking, Inc., Wichita, Kansas, a trucking company that hauls sand, gravel, dirt and asphalt for various customers. At the time of the accident, Dusenbery's trucks were contract hauling for Ritchie Sand, Inc. Total employment was 20 persons working one shift of irregular hours, 6 days a week.

Principal operating officials were Robert W. Dusenbery, president, and Jerry D. Stetler, operations manager.

The truck-trailer which ran over the victim was leased to and operated by Powell Trucking, Andover, Kansas. Powell Trucking employed 29 persons. The company primarily hauled concrete, sand, gravel, dirt, and asphalt. Principal operating officials were D. Brian Powell and Michelle D. Powell, owners.

The last regular MSHA inspection of this operation was conducted on November 6, 1996. Another inspection was conducted following the completion of this investigation.

PHYSICAL FACTORS INVOLVED

The accident occurred on the mine roadway that ran west to east from the mason sand stockpile to the east haulage road, a distance of about 800 feet (see Appendix C). Average width of the roadway was approximately 30 feet. However, the shoulders of the roadway were soft which prevented trucks from getting close to the edge.

A bridge provided access over a conveyor belt tunnel. The bridge was 125 feet in length; 22.5 feet wide on the west end and 23.5 feet wide on the east end. The elevated approaches to the bridge were about 200 feet in each direction and were sloped approximately 8 percent. Concrete blocks lined both sides of the roadway over the bridge. Each block was 2 feet high, 2 feet wide, and 4 feet long.

The victim was operating a 1989 Ford truck, model LTS 9000, vehicle identification number (VIN) 1FDYY95W3KVA55282, connected to a 1993 CMC, 30-foot end dump trailer model SV 102, VIN 4E76AA2624PAUS0252. The truck was registered to and operated by Dusenbery Trucking, Inc.

Involved in the accident was a 1996 Peterbilt truck, model 12M, VIN 1XPGDE9XSTD42046, pulling a 1997, 39-foot Alumatech end dump trailer, VIN 1E9EB3922VL185079, leased to and operated by Powell Trucking. At the time of the accident, the driver of this truck was unaware that the rear wheels of his trailer had run over Meyer.

Inspection of the impressions in the sand at the accident scene matched the markings on the tires of the Alumatech trailer. New recapped tires had been installed on the trailer on February 15, 1997. Each tire bore a distinct marking in the center of the tread.

DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT

At approximately 6:00 a.m., on February 17, 1997, haul trucks began arriving at Ritchie Sand, Inc., sand plant. The trucks entered through the gate and proceeded to travel on several of the roadways. Many of them pulled off to the shoulder of the roads and parked their rigs to wait until they could be loaded. Several of the drivers left the cabs of their trucks to prepare the trailers for loading.

Steven L. Meyer arrived at the mine at about 6:15 a.m. He pulled his truck behind another truck owned by Dusenbery Trucking, Inc., that was being driven by Donald L. Rice. The trucks were parked along the right shoulder of the elevated roadway on the east side of the bridge. Meyer left the cab of his truck and went over to speak with Rice. After a short conversation, Rice decided to prepare his trailer for loading.

At approximately 6:20 a.m., five tractor and trailer rigs had parked on the south shoulder of the roadway with the bridge. They extended from the intersection with the east haulage road back to the west side of the elevated bridge. The victim's truck and trailer was the fourth in line and was parked approximately 10 feet from the east side of the bridge.

Meyer and Rice went to the rear of Rice's trailer to remove the tarp. They experienced difficulty installing the handle into the crank due to early morning darkness. Meyer went to his truck to turn on the headlights in order to provide illumination so they could see the holes for the pins. A 60-foot long truck/trailer, operated by Powell Trucking, passed the parked trucks. Rice saw the tractor portion of the rig as it steered sharply to the left to avoid striking the rear of Meyer's trailer, coming to within about 6 inches of the rear of Meyers' trailer. Rice then continued working on the tarp.

After the truck had passed, Rice turned toward Meyer to thank him for turning the lights on when he saw something in the middle of the road, about 5 feet from Meyer's truck. He walked over and saw Meyer. He went to his truck to radio for help. Mark Thompson, foreman for Ritchie Sand, Inc., drove by and saw Meyer in the roadway. He went to the shop and called 911, then returned to the accident scene. Thompson checked for vital signs but none were detected.

Emergency personnel arrived at approximately 6:35 a.m. An emergency medical technician pronounced the victim dead. The official cause of death was multiple injuries.

After striking the victim, the driver for Powell Trucking had continued on to the stockpile where his truck was loaded. He weighed at the scales at 6:43 a.m., and was leaving the mine when he heard on the CB radio that a person had been killed along the road near the bridge. He remembered that as he was driving through that area he had felt two bumps at the rear of his trailer.

CONCLUSION

There were no witnesses to the accident. The victim had returned to his truck to turn on the headlights. Factors contributing to the accident were:

1. An area in the mine away from mine hazards and traffic had not been established for truck drivers to tarp and untarp in preparation for loading.

2. Signs were not posted warning equipment operators of narrow roadways, narrow bridge (including "no passing"), and of poor visibility at the bridge area.

3. The areas used by truck operators to prepare for loading were not sufficiently illuminated to allow work to be performed safely.

4. The contract truck drivers, when hired, had not been indoctrinated in safety rules and safe work procedures.

RECOMMENDATION

All truck drivers should remain in their vehicles while on mine property.

VIOLATIONS

Ritchie Sand, Inc.

Citation No. 7905501

Issued under the provisions of Section 104(a) on February 20, 1997, for violation of 30 CFR 56.17001:

A fatal accident occurred at 0625 hours on 2/17/97, when a commercial contract truck driver was run over by a passing end dump trailer. The victim parked his truck on the right side of the elevated roadway near the east end of the bridge and was helping a coworker to remove the tarp from his trailer. In the early morning hours, it was standard operating procedure for the drivers to park their trucks, exit the cab, and prepare for loading. The victim was run over by the trailer of a truck that was passing on the left. Illumination sufficient to provide safe working conditions was not provided at the areas where work was being performed.

Citation No. 7905502

Issued under the provisions of Section 104(a) on February 20, 1997, for violation of 30 CFR 56.9100(a):

A fatal accident occurred at 0625 hours on 2/17/97, when a commercial contract truck driver was run over by a passing end dump trailer. The victim's truck was parked on the right side of the elevated roadway near the east end of the bridge and was one of five trucks waiting in line to be loaded. The accident occurred along the narrow bridge and roadway where the area was congested with parked trucks, and moving trucks passing on the left. There was a visibility problem on the east side of the bridge where the road dropped off significantly. There were no signs posted, nor were there signals that warned of hazardous conditions in the congested area. Rules governing a safe speed, right-of-way, and direction of movement had not been established and followed at the mine.

Citation No. 4662301

Issued under the provisions of Section 104(a) on April 30, 1997, for a violation of 30 CFR 56.9100(b):

A fatal accident occurred at 0625 hours on 2/17/97, when a contract truck operator was run over by a passing end dump trailer. The victim's truck was parked on the right side of the elevated roadway near the east end of the bridge and was one of five trucks waiting in line to be loaded. The accident occurred along the narrow bridge and roadway where the area was congested with parked trucks and moving trucks. Signs or signals were not provided or used to warn drivers of traffic congestion, narrow roadways and visibility problems.

Dusenbery Trucking, Inc.

Citation No. 7905504

Issued under the provisions of Section 104(a) on February 20, 1997, for violation of 30 CFR 56.18006:

A fatal accident occurred at 0625 hours on 2/17/97, when a commercial contract truck driver was run over by a passing end dump trailer. The victim had not been indoctrinated in safety rules and safe work procedures which may have prevented this accident in that he would have recognized the inherent dangers associated with powered haulage equipment in a congested area. Also, he should have been made aware of any safe work procedures established by the mine operator and instructed to incorporate these procedures in order to safely perform his required duties.

Powell Trucking

Citation No. 7905505

Issued under the provisions of Section 104(a) on February 20, 1997, for violation of 30 CFR 56.18006:

A fatal accident occurred at 0625 hours on 2/17/97, when a commercial contract truck driver was run over by the trailer of a passing truck. The truck driver was not indoctrinated in safety rules and safe work procedures which may have prevented this accident in that making a pass in a congested area which had a restrictive clearance should not have been attempted.

[FAB97M11]