Auto Technician Mistakes HandicappedAccessible Accelerator Pedal for Brake Pedal and 

Fatally Pins Co-Worker

Incident Number: 14KY001

Photo courtesy of Kentucky OSHA

Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center

333 Waller Avenue

Suite 242

Lexington, Kentucky 40504

Phone: 859-323-2981

Fax: 859-257-3909

www.kiprc.uky.edu
Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program

Incident Number: 14KY001

Release Date: June 30, 2014

Subject: Auto Technician Mistakes Handicapped-Accessible Accelerator

Pedal for Brake Pedal and Fatally Pins Co-Worker

Summary

Monday, January 6, 2014, a 50-year-old master technician and married father was sitting at his 

desk in the service bay area of a dealership, with his back to the service area, when an auto 

technician mistook a handicapped-accessible accelerator pedal for the brake pedal causing a

Lincoln MKX to travel forward. The vehicle struck the desk chair the victim was sitting in and 

knocked him into the desk. The co-worker driving the MKX tried to steer to the right when he 

realized what was occurring, but was unable to avoid striking the victim. The co-worker quickly 

exited the vehicle and yelled for someone to call 911. 

A third employee who had prior EMT experience arrived at the scene and assessed the situation,

calming the victim and covering him to keep him from going into shock until the ambulance 

arrived. The victim died from blunt force injuries en route to the hospital.

Recommendation No. 1: Based on manufacture’s recommendations service technicians should 

detach unfamiliar handicapped accessible equipment if untrained to use the special equipment

before operating the vehicle.

Recommendation No. 2: All duties and other tasks not involving the driver of the vehicle, 

should be performed in an area away from, or barricaded from contact with vehicles being 

serviced. 

 

Introduction

Monday, January 06, 2014, the Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program 

was notified by a local news channel of a fatality at a dealership involving a vehicle and an 

employee. The local news reported that the employee was struck from behind while sitting at his 

desk in the bay area, with his back to the service area, where a technician attempted to idle a 

vehicle to proceed with an oil change. The technician accidently mistook the handicapped 

accelerator pedal for the brake pedal and the vehicle traveled into the desk area where the victim 

was sitting. The technician desperately tried to veer to the right when he realized what was 

happening but was unable to avoid striking the chair where the victim was sitting and shoved the 

victim into the desk and wall. 
Employer

The employer was an automobile dealership. The employer sold new and used automobiles and

offered a full service department with 88 service bays as well as a collision repair department. 

The employer has been in business since 1969 and has 136 employees. 

Written Safety Programs and Training

There was no specific written policy on removal of handicapped accessible equipment prior to 

operating a vehicle being serviced at the time of this incident. The employer did have OSHA 

required safety programs and training in place at the time of the incident. 

Victim 

The victim was a 50-year-old father and husband. He had been employed as the lead technician 

with the employer since September 7, 2011. He was a certified Master Technician. He was 

devoted to his wife and daughter. Friends described him as a prankster by nature who loved to 

make people smile. He chose attending church with his wife and daughter over golfing with his 

friends. He was an avid golfer who not only hit a hole-in-one on the local golf course once, but 

hit it twice in the same hole. He recently saw his daughter graduate from college. She 

remembers him by the saying of Dr. Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it 

happened.” 

Incident Scene

The incident scene was a service bay area of an automobile dealership. The service bay area and 

the administrative area where serviced-related computer work was preformed were all located 

together. The Administrative area was in front of the bays where vehicle servicing was 

performed, without any barriers and the employees sitting there had their backs toward the 

service area. 

Weather

On the day of the fatal incident, Monday, January 6, 2014, the temperature was 19 degrees 

Fahrenheit with snow. 

Investigation

Monday, January 6, 2014, a 50-year-old Master Technician and married father spoke to another 

technician about work that needed to be done to a 2009 Lincoln MKX that was accessible for a 

handicapped driver with a left-foot accelerator made for people who have lost the ability to use 

their right foot. The left foot gas pedal was purchased from Mobility Products & Design and was 

model number 3545. This model type is easily removable. To remove the left-foot accelerator 

you lift the key ring on the LFGP (left foot gas pedal) assembly and while lifting and holding the 

key ring up, slide the lockout base to the left. When the assembly begins to move, release the 
key ring and continue to slide the assembly left until it can be lifted out of the base. The 

instructions are easy to follow and should be placed on the dash where other operators are aware 

of the installation of handicapped equipment. Mobility Products and Design includes a sticker 

with their products to be installed on the dash board for safety purposes. The sticker was not on 

the dash as per instructions of Mobility Products and Design. 

After agreeing on the work that needed to be completed, the victim moved to his desk area in 

front of the bay area where the vehicle was going to be serviced. The Master Technician sat at 

his desk with his back towards the service area. The technician started the vehicle and while 

idling, he engaged what he thought was the brake. However, it was the handicapped equipped 

accelerator and it caused the vehicle to travel forward striking the chair of the victim and pinning 

him between the desk and the vehicle. As soon as the employee inside the vehicle realized what 

was happening, he desperately tried to veer to the right of the victim to avoid striking him, but it 

was too late. The employee immediately exited the vehicle and yelled for someone to call 911. 

The employee helped the victim to the ground. Another employee who had past EMT 

experience came over and assessed the situation, made the victim comfortable and covered him 

to prevent shock. Emergency crews were called at 11:53 am and dispatched by 11:54 am. The 

ambulance arrived on the scene at 11:59 am and found the victim conscious, lying on the floor, 

pale and diaphoretic and complaining of shortness of breath. The ambulance transported the 

victim at 12:12 pm to the local hospital. En route to the hospital the victim suffered cardiac 

arrest. The victim was given atropine and CPR was engaged. The victim was pronounced dead 

at 12:45 p.m. 

Interviews with the employees discovered there was a prior handicapped vehicle that came in for 

service and the handicapped equipment was removed prior to the technician’s operation of the 

vehicle. However, this time, the handicapped equipment was not removed even though the

technician was not trained to operate handicapped equipment. It is unknown why the 

handicapped equipment was not removed and a warning sticker was not on the dash board of the 

vehicle.

Cause of Death

The cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries from being pinned between the car and the 

desk and wall.

Recommendations/Discussions

Recommendation No. 1: Based on manufacture’s recommendations, service technicians 

should detach unfamiliar handicapped accessible equipment if untrained to use the special 

equipment before operating the vehicle.

Manufacturers’ mobility products and design installation and the owner’s manual specifically 

warns that the operation of a motor vehicle with a handicapped accessible adjustable accelerator 

and brake pedal may result in serious bodily injury, death and/or property damage. The owner’s 

manual also states that the left foot gas pedal can be quickly attached and is to be used by 

TRAINED OPERATORS ONLY. The manual states that it can also be quickly detached. Also, 

since it’s not uncommon for technicians to not take the time to read the manual, a warning 
sticker should be posted on the dash where a new driver would see it telling them to remove the 

pedals or explaining the operation of the pedals. This particular manufacturer does include these 

stickers to be placed on the dash with each of their products sold as a warning to untrained 

drivers. The authorized installer of the equipment should mandate these stickers be placed in the 

vehicle for safety reason. 

Another scenario, noted in the second photograph, the paper mat is covering the handicapped 

foot pedal. This could have played a factor into the incident, hiding the fact there was a 

handicapped pedal and surprising the technician. This is another reason why the warning sticker 

is necessary. 

Recommendation No. 2: All duties and other tasks not involving the driver of the vehicle, 

should be performed in an area away from or barricaded from contact with vehicles being 

serviced. 

While service technicians are also doing administrative work on their computers, it is highly 

recommended that for any task not involving the driver of the car the work area should be away 

from the area where the vehicles are being serviced or barriers/ guardrails should be installed to 

protect them from incidents of this nature in the future. If this is not possible, then an 

administrative procedure should be developed for the technician to clear the area in front of and 

behind the vehicle before moving the vehicle. 

Keywords

Automobile technician

Car vs. pedestrian

Automotive repair

Handicapped accessible automobile equipment

References

http://www.mobilityproductsdesign.com

https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/10293/automotive_workshop_

safety.pdf

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=left+foot+accelerator&FORM=HDRSC2&adlt=stri

ct#a

https://www.google.com/search?q=left+foot+accelerator&num=20&source=lnms&tbm=isc

h&sa=X&ei=0Il_U5SJLJPOsAS0soDYDQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAw&biw=659&bih=935

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEV03wiX9TpmEAvINXNyoA?p=

left+foot+accelerator&fr=yfp-t-320&fr2=piv-web
Acknowledgements

The Kentucky FACE program would like to thank the Company, and KYOSHA and Mobility 

Products and Design for their assistance with this report.

The Kentucky Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Program (FACE) is funded by 

grant 2U60OH008483-09 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The purpose of FACE is to aid in 

the research and prevention of occupational fatalities by evaluating events leading to, 

during, and after a work related fatality. Recommendations are made to help employers 

and employees have a safer work environment. For more information about FACE and 

KIPRC, please visit our website: www.kiprc.uky.edu

Desk area where victim was working Photo courtesy of Kentucky OSHA
Inside the handicapped vehicle Photo courtesy of Kentucky OSHA
Handicapped break and accelerator pedals Photo courtesy of Kentucky OSHA