Marion, NC- McDowell County police responded to two separate fatal accidents Tuesday, both involving dump trucks. One victim was a construction worker, and the other victim was a passing motorist.
In the first incident, a man was pinned under a dump truck in the construction zone near West McDowell Junior High School, the News Herald reported.
Rafeal Magana, 47, of Marion, was sweeping up road debris when he was run over by a dump truck hauling dirt.North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper Sgt. Kevin Owens told the News Herald that the dump truck driver, 39 year-old Gregory Beaver, was backing down a hill when he ran over Magana.
Magana was pronounced dead at the scene moments after emergency personnel arrived.
The accident is still under investigation, but Owens said the driver did not see the man in the roadway. Both of the men work for Baker Grading and Landscaping who have been working on a road widening project between the high school and the junior high.
No students witnessed the incident, the only witnesses worked for the construction company.
According to the News Herald, that was the second accident at that construction site since work began in July. Several workers were constructing a 30 foot rock wall when scaffolding collapsed beneath them. At least eight people were injured, two men,seriously.
Construction is one of the most dangerous occupations. Preliminary data from OSHA indicates that fatal construction accidents increased by 5 percent last year. In 2012, there were 775 deaths of workers, mostly contractors in the construction and transportation industries.
The second incident occurred just a few hours later when a large rock inside a dump truck rolled off and crashed through the driver’s windshield crushing him.
Randy Arnett, 57, was driving a dump truck hauling a large boulder when the tailgate released and the boulder rolled out of the truck onto a vehicle.
The boulder crashed through Douglas Mahan’s windshield and crushed him. Mahan, 62, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was pronounced dead on the scene, per the News Herald.
Mahan’s passenger Marian Otten was not injured.
North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper R.W. Monosso said that charges are pending.
While the circumstances involving both of these were vastly different, they both involved dump trucks and demonstrate the importance of utilizing safe practices when working with heavy equipment. According to OSHA, transportation and roadway accidents account for 2 out 5 work-related fatalities.
Dump trucks, tractor-trailers, trash trucks and other large trucks can cause significantly more harm and property damage than smaller passenger vehicles. Not all operators of these large, heavy trucks are careless or negligent, but when they are, they can cause a great deal of harm to one or more individuals.
Victims of truck accidents face expensive medical bills and may find they are unable to work. Whether an accident has occurred on a worksite, on the roads or involves a third party a truck accident attorney will work to make certain their clients are fairly compensated for their pain and suffering.
