10.08.2017

Fatal crushing incident in Florida

A man died yesterday after he was crushed against an electronic billboard after having inadvertently activated the controls.

The incident occurred in the town of Palm Harbor, Florida – just north east of Tampa – Robert Tanner, 58, was working on the digital sign from the bucket of a truck mounted lift, at a height of around six metres or so. When according to his colleague Charles Walker - who was watching from the ground - he leaned over the boom controls to reach an electrical access panel on the sign.

A statement from the local sheriff added: “his body inadvertently activated a control switch causing the boom to rise upward. The motion pinned his torso between the bucket and the sign’s metal overhang. He was unable to release the switch due to the hydraulic pressure. Walker witnessed Tanner in distress and tried to reverse the boom by accessing a control panel on the side of the truck. However he was unable to reverse the hydraulic pressure or override the control panel.”
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The scene sometime after the recovery had been completed

Paramedics from the local fire and rescue service took more than 20 minutes to free Tanner from the platform and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration were notified of the of the incident. Both men were employed by Accent Neon and Sign Company. A technical representative of the company arrived on the scene later in order to check that the platform was functioning correctly.
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The platform is checked that it was operating correctly.

We will update this item when we learn more.