Two Idaho Falls, Idaho, area mechanics fatally crushed in separate incidents

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Two workers in the Idaho Falls area were killed in separate incidents when the vehicles they were working under fell from their makeshift supports and crushed them. The incidents occurred within a two-week period and within three miles of one another. Since Sept. 1, 2014, five of the nine workplace deaths in Idaho involved workers who were crushed under or by vehicles.

A mechanic performing transmission work for VH Trucking & Construction LLC, of Menan, was killed on Jan. 12 when the truck he was working under fell from the wooden blocks supporting the vehicle. Two weeks later, an employee of Cross's Crashes Inc., an Idaho Falls-based salvage yard, was also fatally crushed when a van fell on him from supporting wheel rims.

An inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Boise Area Office found that neither VH Trucking & Construction nor Cross's Crashes had basic safety programs or precautions in place. Neither employer took the steps necessary to secure the vehicles to prevent them from falling. Investigators also discovered forklift-related hazards at both locations.

"Lives and communities are forever changed when preventable tragedies like these occur," said Dave Kearns, OSHA area director in Boise. "We send our sincere condolences to the families and friends of these two men. The employers' failure to identify these hazardous conditions cost the lives of working members of the community. We must do everything to prevent these incidents from happening."

For the violations, OSHA has proposed fines of $16,800 for VH Trucking & Construction and $9,800 for Cross's Crashes. Citations are at:

• http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/1020689CrossCrashes.pdf
• http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/1018312VHTruckingandConstruction.pdf

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities, or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Boise Area Office at 208-321-2960.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.