Incident in Victoria being investigated while NSW transport owner faces charges
WorkSafe Victoria reports it is investigating the death of a truck driver who was collecting a hire rubbish skip bin at a workplace in Kew.
The 55-year-old died on the scene after being struck by his own truck.
WorkSafe notes he left the cabin of his vehicle when it moved and struck him before crashing through a side fence and into a garage on an adjoining property.
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner as WorkSafe investigates the incident.
A Townsville company was recently penalised following a fatal industrial accident. Read more, here
The New South Wales Resources Regulator also reports criminal proceedings are in progress against Richard Wayne Simmons, whose trucking company RW & LM Simmons employed a driver killed at Rix’s Creek Mine near Singleton, NSW, in 2016.
The 53-year-old was fatally injured when he was struck by the steel tailgate of a haulage truck on December 13, 2016, after climbing into the trailer to clean out residual material in the belief that use of washbay facilities was no longer permitted at the mine.
While there was no evidence mining operator Bloomfield Group issued such a directive, it agreed to a WHS undertaking totalling more than $500,000 to avoid a conviction, including: $55,000 towards two videos on truck and general safety for its 800 employees and contractors; $50,000 towards traumatic brain injury treatment; $285,000 towards developing a mental health resource toolkit following serious workplace incidents; more than $100,000 towards regulator costs.
Simmons is facing a category 2 prosecution under the WHS Act for “failing to comply with a duty that exposes an individual to risk of death or serious injury”.