Pittsburgh, PA — Officials said that they’re trying to figure out what exactly caused a large construction truck to lose control and roll down a hillside last week, seriously injuring the driver.
The accident happened along Parkway North (I-279) at Camp Horne Road, where a construction crew was working on a residential housing area for Cobblestone Development. A large earth-moving truck was working on a steep incline that day, operated by a worker.
The truck was hauling gravel from different areas at the worksite, authorities said. At about 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, the truck was near the top of said incline when it suddenly started to skid/roll downhill.
The truck skidded down the hill, onto Parkway North (I-279) and then rolled over. The worker was extricated by energy workers and was said to be in serious condition at a local hospital.
Authorities are still investigating what might have happened that afternoon, but they’re especially looking at mechanical failure as an explanation.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
I hope this company has workers’ compensation benefits to take care of their injured worker. However, I’d like to address the possibility that the construction truck might have had a mechanical failure. Now, there are lots of things that can go wrong with a truck that size, but sometimes a manufacturer’s defect or a faulty part in the truck is the culprit. Obviously, under-maintenance and hard use of the truck can cause something to fail as well, but a lot of companies don’t maintain their equipment and machinery very well because it’s, well, expensive. If there was something wrong with this construction truck, though, that was out of the worker’s control, then I think the manufacturer of the truck should be held responsible for their product. After all, peoples’ lives depend on these things – the least we expect from the manufacturer is that it won’t slip out of gear or suddenly roll downhill.
— Grossman Law Offices
