NIOSH • 1000 Frederick Lane, Morgantown, WV 26508 • 304-285-5916

FACE IT: Report Slides
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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Sanitation Worker Struck by Backing Refuse 

Truck – North Carolina

(FACE 2021-01)

2016 Crane Carrier model LETZ-30 truck chassis with a 2016 Heil model PT1OOO 

refuse collection attachment. Photo courtesy of NC OSHA
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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SUMMARY 

• On February 14, 2020, at 8:40 a.m., an employee of a city public works department 

was picking up garbage on a refuse truck on a residential route. 

Incident scene. Photo courtesy of NC OSHA
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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SUMMARY • The employer was a city 

public work division that 

managed six departments 

including sanitation. 

• The three-person 

sanitation crew consisted 

of an operator and two 

sanitation workers who 

rode short distances on 

the back rider step of the 

truck as it moved through 

residential areas from 

one stop to the next. 

• The crew was gathering 

trash cans on a dead-end 

residential street near a 

“T” intersection.

Passenger side rear label with locations on refuse truck. Photo 

courtesy of NC OSHA 
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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SUMMARY 

•Startled by a pickup truck 

backing up from an adjacent 

residence, the sanitation worker 

jumped off the backing refuse 

truck, ran behind the refuse 

truck, and was fatally struck by 

the refuse truck. 

• The refuse truck operator 

contacted 911 and the 

employer and emergency 

response personnel were 

dispatched. 

• The worker was pronounced 

dead at the scene. 

Incident scene
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

• Riding on an outside step of 

backing refuse equipment

• Lack of situational awareness 

of driver and sanitation 

workers

• Lack of written standard 

operating procedures for 

driving and riding positions 

on refuse trucks 

• Lack of communication with 

ground workers
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Employers should select refuse equipment that reduces 

struck-by injury hazards for employees.

• Employers should install worker detection and operator 

notification devices on refuse equipment.

• Employer should develop policies and procedures and 

provide training on safe driving and riding positions on 

refuse trucks.
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Waste and refuse management companies should follow and 

train employees on industry safety standards for operating 

refuse equipment in reverse.

• Employers should provide training on hazard recognition and 

mitigation strategies for equipment blind spots/zones. 

• Manufacturers of refuse equipment should design riding 

steps and passenger compartments that ensure rider and 

passenger safety during all times of routine vehicle 

operation.
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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Sanitation Worker 

Struck by Backing 

Refuse Truck –

North Carolina

(FACE 2021-01)

Download the full report: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/pdfs/full202101.pdf
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program

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CONTACT US

Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation 

Surveillance and Field Investigations Branch

Division of Safety Research, NIOSH

1000 Frederick Lane, M/S 1808

Morgantown, West Virginia 26505-2888

FACE Web Site: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/

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