Employees Killed by Truck, Trench Collapse, Machinery in Workplace Accidents

Pharr, TX (WorkersCompensation.com) – Employees died in workplace accidents involving a truck, a trench and machinery this week.   

In Pharr, Texas, officials said one man died after being trapped under a box trailer Sept. 6. 

Firefighters iesponded to a call to Penske Truck Leasing regarding a man trapped under a truck.  

Pharr Fire Department Chief Pilar Rodriguez said the man was working on the truck when it fell on him. Although firefighters were able to get the man out from under the box trailer, he succumbed to his injuries and died at the scene.   

"What we know is one of the employees was working on one of the trucks, and it somehow fell on top of the employee," Pharr Police Chief Andy Harvey said. "It's only one employee who was injured fatally, obviously, but nobody else was injured. It's just a really unfortunate, awful accident, but really, it's a workplace accident, and we're investigating the incident."  

Penske Truck Leasing said in a statement that they would cooperate with the investigation, but that the man was not a Penske employee.   

"Penske Truck Leasing extends its deepest sympathies to everyone affected by the unfortunate accident at its Pharr, Texas location,” the company said in its statement. “The victim was not a Penske employee as previously reported by some news outlets. No Penske employees or equipment were involved in today’s incident. Penske is committed to safe operations and is fully cooperating with authorities in their review of this matter."  

Instead, the man was an Ashley Furniture employee. It’s not clear why the man was working on the truck.   

Officials said OSHA would be investigating the incident.   

In Renton, Wash., another man is dead after a trench collapsed on him.   

Officials said the man was working at a work site Wednesday afternoon when the trench collapsed. According to the Renton Regional Fire Authority, the collapse occurred just before 1 p.m., but it took crews nearly eight hours to remove the victim’s body. Fire crews had to install shoring in the trench to prevent further collapse. Officials estimate the victim’s body was covered by about 10 feet of dirt.   

Officials said that while the trench did have a trench box, there were some areas of the 20-foot-deep trench that were not protected by the trench box. When firefighters arrived on the scene, the victim was partially uncovered, but did not have a pulse, officials said.  

Washington State Department of Labor and Industries inspectors will investigation the incident to see what kinds of protections were in place and what may have led to the collapse.   

AAA Contractors, the contractors on site, refused to comment on the victim’s death.  

Drew Woodruff, a trench safety expert with DP Nicoli, a company that specializes in safety equipment, told KING 5 News in Washington state that the number of deaths due to trench collapses is up this year.  

"It only takes a second for something bad to happen," Woodruff said.  

The victim's identity has not been released.  

And in Dorchester County, S.C., the South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation into the death of a woman at a manufacturing plant.   

Officials said that Sonya Strock, 57, of Bamberg, was killed on August 31, when she became entangled in some machinery at the Sundaram Clayton plant in Ridgeville.   

According to reports from the Dorchester County coroner’s office, Strock died from “traumatic injuries sustained while working with the manufacturing equipment at the factory.” Officials said that although rescue crews were called, her body had already been removed from the machinery by the time they arrived.