Mechanic Fatally Injured When the Dump Truck Tire He Was Inflating Ruptures - Massachusetts

SUMMARY

On August 13, 2015, a 38-year-old male mechanic (victim) was fatally injured while inflating a truck tire at the maintenance garage of a construction company. The truck was brought back to the company garage location when the driver noticed the truck was leaning to the right. As the victim was inflating the tire with low air pressure, the tire ruptured. The blast of air from the tire rupturing threw the victim 15 feet where he then landed on the ground. The driver of the truck immediately placed a call for emergency medical services (EMS). The local fire department and EMS arrived at the incident location within minutes. The victim was pronounced dead while being transported to the hospital.

Contributing factors identified in this investigation included: not inspecting a tire that had been driven on while underinflated before re-inflation; standing within the trajectory of blast forces while inflating a truck tire; and not training workers about the specific hazards of working with large truck tires and how to identify the hazards associated with filling underinflated truck tires.

Mechanic Fatally Injured When the Dump Truck Tire He Was Inflating Ruptures – Massachusettspdf icon [PDF 808 KB]