24.04.2023

Fatal loading incident

We sadly start the work with news of a tragic equipment ;loading incident in I-45 in North Harris County, Houston,Texas.

The incident occurred last Thursday morning around 9:15 when Hector Cervantes was loading a Genie telescopic from the Sunbelt rental fleet onto his truck on the side of a feeder road onto Interstate Highway I-45.
He was apparently stood alongside the truck trailer, strapping it down when a car drove up the ramps of his truck at speed. The impact pushed the lift partially off the trailer, with the car striking Cervantes who would have almost certainly died instantly.
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A report from the local sheriff’s office said – in summary -: “A woman was driving a 2008 Hyundai Azera northbound in the center lane of the service road. Hector Cervantes had parked an 18-wheeler in the right lane of the service road and had just loaded a large industrial lift onto its trailer and was securing the lift before transporting it. The back of the trailer was in contact with the ground due to Cervantes driving the lift onto the trailer. Cervantes was standing on the east side of the trailer near the back. The driver of the car changed into the right lane and drove onto the trailer and struck the lift. The impact caused the lift to partially rotate into the center lane where another person struck the lift with her vehicle. The woman in the Azera was taken to a hospital. Cervantes was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.”

The news video below sums up the incident


While Hector Cervantes was loading a Sunbelt machine, it looks as though he was employed by a specialist transport contractor. We will update this item when we learn more. In the meantime it highlight the dangers and risks that delivery drivers face every day and the importance of take ever step possible to avoid such incidents.