Accident: 112540901 - Drowns In Lake

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on November 16, 2000, Employee #1 was attempting to remove a 40 ft pontoon boat from a lake for winter storage. He had backed a truck and boat trailer down the boat ramp into the water, and they rolled out approximately 40 ft into the lake. Employee #1 drowned while trying to swim to shore. His body was found in 12 ft of water, and the truck and trailer ended up in 15 ft of water. No personal flotation devices were available on either the truck or boat.

water, drown, boat, lost control, trailer, work rules, life jacket

Accident: 170122329 - Drowns While Freeing Stuck Bulldozer

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on July 7, 1999, Employee #1 and a coworker unloaded a bulldozer near the edge of Wolf River in Memphis, TN, to pull another bulldozer out of the water. Two other coworkers were at the top of the bank at the highway. Employee #1 attempted to swim out to the stuck dozer with a cable. He went under, came up once and thrashed about for a few seconds, and then went under again. Employee #1 drowned.

drown, work rules, river, bulldozer, earthmoving equip, mired, water, life jacket, asphyxiated

Accident: 170040356 - Drowns When Surf Rescue Boat Capsizes

Employee #1 was the team leader of a police surf rescue team. The police received a 911 call regarding a surfer in distress and dispatched Employee #1's team to the scene. Two coworkers launched a jet ski to assist the surfer, but a large wave capsized it and threw the coworkers into the water. Employee #1 and a third coworker then launched a 13 ft Achilles surf rescue boat to assist the two coworkers and the surfer in distress. Another large wave capsized that boat, throwing Employee #1 and the third coworker into the water. Employee #1 drowned. He was not wearing the proper personal protective gear. In addition, the motor on the boat had not been properly maintained; it had water in the gas tank and the spark plugs were worn out.

boat, overturn, drown, water, ppe, life jacket, work rules

Accident: 170710040 - Killed After Falling Off Barge During Storm

During the course of their work, a crew had placed a barge on the south side of an existing dock. At high tide at approximately 2:30 p.m., the weather began to deteriorate and the crew decided to move the barge into deeper water on the north side of the dock. Employee #1, who had been working on shore, jumped onto the barge for a ride. While the barge was in motion, a bolt of lighting struck close by. The crew looked up at the sky and when they looked back, they saw Employee #1 falling into the water. He was killed. Employee #1 was not wearing a personal flotation device.

construction, barge, lightning, work rules, fall, water, storm, life jacket, work rules, riding on equipment