Unfortunately, Maryland workers who work around heavy equipment and vehicles are especially vulnerable to workplace injuries. Injuries can result from accidents as well as equipment failure.
Supervisors and colleagues are now mourning the death of a state worker who lost his life in a tragic workplace accident at the Dundalk Marine Terminal. The man died while attempting to stop a truck that had gone out of control.
According to police, the 46-year-old Maryland Environmental Service equipment operator noticed that his truck was rolling backwards after he’d put it in park at around 10:15 a.m. According to a representative from the Maryland Transportation Authority, the man tried to hop into the vehicle to prevent it from rolling. However, he was struck by the truck and killed in the process.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The Dundalk resident had worked for over seven years for the Maryland Environmental Service, said an agency spokeswoman. He regularly operated various types of heavy machinery, such as trucks for waste containers, Bobcats and backhoes, and he had a valid commercial driver’s license.
Employees working at the Maryland Environmental Service were shocked and saddened upon learning of the man’s death. Various employees said that he was highly regarded throughout the agency, and his supervisor described him as a friend and a good man who always finished the job.
A spokesperson from the agency said that they conduct safety training sessions on a weekly basis, and that there were no records of other recent workplace fatalities. The spokesperson was waiting to see the police report before making a determination as to whether additional safety training was warranted.
Source: Baltimore Sun, “State worker killed in port accident remembered as dedicated colleague,” Yeganeh June Torbati, 4/13/2011