WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific track maintenance manager was killed when he was struck by an excavator operated by a contract worker, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on a fatal April 11 incident near McNeil, Ark.
The incident occurred about 6:22 p.m. as a work crew was replacing a culvert on a 25-foot-fill supporting a single-track main line between UP’s Pine Bluff yard in Arkansas and Big Sandy, Texas. The victim, identified by authorities as Danny Brent Wilkins, 43, of Rison, Ark, was part of a crew repairing a washout [see “Worker killed during UP track repairs …,” Trains News Wire, April 12, 2024].
The NTSB report says the incident came after the victim walked near the tread on the south side of the excavator; the machine’s operator was in the process of moving ballast when the bucket struck the manager; he was pinned between the bucket and body of the machine, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident led to an advisory from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalman Committee regarding safety briefings, and an FRA Safety Bulletin about proper safety precautions when working on or around roadway maintenance machines [see “FRA issues safety bulletin …,” News Wire, April 24, 2024].
The ongoing NTSB investigation will focus on safety technologies that assist with equipment operations; UP rules and training for workers around roadway maintenance machines, as well as those of contractor B&P Enterprises; and communications between UP’s dispatching center and the manager.
Why look at the communications between the job manager and the dispatch center. As Mr. Saunders stated ‘A moment of carelessness cost this man his life’.
The job manager is hopefully the most knowledgable person on the job and the one presenting the safety briefing. As a human he made a error which cost him his life. Condolences to his family and friends.
A moment of carelessness cost this man his life. Safety and/or the potential for disastrous results when safe work procedures are compromised for even a fraction of a second, can change safe conditions to unsafe in but a moment of time. Each employee must commit to being alert and use the three best tools available: His brain, his eyes and his ears.