A man was killed at work Tuesday morning when he was struck by a tractor trailer.
Jerry Whitman was near a loading dock at Institution Food House (IFH) at about 10:30 a.m. when a tractor trailer was reversing, according to Hickory police.
A Pepsi tractor trailer was backing into the dock to unload when Whitman was struck by the truck, said Maj. Clyde Deal with the police department.
Whitman, 49, of Granite Falls, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hickory traffic safety unit is investigating the accident, Deal said. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video near the loading dock to get more information about the incident.
The name of the driver, who is from North Carolina, has not yet been released.
IFH had a serious injury at its same facility, off U.S. 321 in Hickory, on Aug. 7, 2007. In that incident, a truck driver got out of his tractor trailer, which was parked on an incline at the business. He was behind the truck when it began to roll downhill, pinning him against the fence. No one was in the truck at the time. The driver had to be airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center for injuries to the lower half of his body.
The N.C. Department of Labor Occupational Health and Safety Division investigated the 2007 incident and found that IFH had a serious violation, according to the U.S. Department of Labor website.
A serious violation is one that has a substantial probability of death or serious injury or physical harm that could occur from the conditions, said Dolores Quesenberry, director of communications with the N.C. Department of Labor.
According to the citation for the 2007 incident at IFH, the business failed to provide a place that was free from hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm, specifically citing, “warehouse-the tractor trailer parked at the loading dock was not secured to prevent movement.”
IFH was fined $963 for the violation.
The N.C. Department of Labor was notified of the Tuesday accident, as well, Quesenberry said. If there is cause for an investigation, such as a death, the Department of Labor must be notified within eight hours.
Because Tuesday’s accident involved a tractor trailer trapping a man into a dock, the Department of Labor will look at the truck involved.
“We’ll look to see if it had an audible warning device or if the driver’s view was obstructed and an employee was signaling them (to back up),” Quesenberry said.
They’ll also conduct interviews of witnesses and take photographs.
An investigation can take anywhere from three to six months.
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