DATE: June 14, 2004
INCIDENT TYPE: Close
Call
LOCATION: District
11
TYPE OF WORK ACTIVITY:
Debris Removal
THE ACCIDENT: The
District 11 Safety Office has requested that this recent District 11
newsletter article be distributed statewide:
Most maintenance workers
will tell you that working around hazardous conditions truly is all
in a day's work. The worker realizes that when it is time to get up
in the morning to report to work maintaining our freeways, that this
could be the day that he or she gets hurt or fatally injured. It
was that kind of day on May 21 for Caltrans Equipment Operator Kathleen
Curran who started by preparing to go out on her rounds. As it turned
out, she had to face a close call on southbound State Route 163 (SR-163).
Kathleen, assigned
to the Travelway Crew stationed at the Kearny Mesa Maintenance Yard,
picked up her list from the dispatchers and drove away early that morning
in her orange pick up truck (equipped with a lift gate for picking up
trash and debris off the freeways). The day started out pretty much
routine. Kathleen was removing a chair from the iceplant along SR-163
at about 10:30 a.m. She parked her truck partially on shoulder and was
attempting to tie down the chair from the passenger side, when she noticed
in her peripheral vision a speeding black BMW bearing down on her. All
of a sudden loud tire screeches and the sounds of crushed glass and
metal were filling her head. "I was in shock that this was happening,"
said Kathleen. "Everything was moving in slow motion. I thought, 'oh
my gosh this can't be happening.' When I noticed that the driver of
the BMW was straddling the line and not correcting himself, I kept backing
up further off the shoulder until I stumbled and fell backwards into
the iceplant." All at once, the freeway came to a complete standstill:
the southbound lanes due to the accident and the northbound lanes because
of the inevitable gawkers. Kathleen
fell pretty hard hurting her right shoulder and lower back. The
impact of the crash had pushed her truck across all the lanes of oncoming
traffic. It was then hit a second time by a white panel truck, totaling
her vehicle. Even with the accident scene ahead, impatient motorists
were still trying to creep forward. Shocked and scared, Kathleen did
not think about the implications to herself. She regrouped, brushed
herself off, ran to her truck to stabilize it and used the radio to
call for help. Once she was sure the experts were on the way, she began
directing the snarled traffic. This
so impressed one eyewitness that she called the public information office
after the incident. "I was about 150 feet back from the accident when
I saw this woman get up out of the iceplant and start directing traffic,"
said Susan Sibley, eyewitness to the accident. "I thought, 'boy is she
ever brave.' She almost gets killed, but still has her wits about her
and starts directing traffic and moving debris out of the way to help
cars get through." Sibley
called Caltrans to convey what a wonderful job Kathleen did. When
informed of this, Kathleen downplayed the compliment, saying she was
just doing her job and anyone in her crew would have done the same thing.
"If a paramedic was in an accident, he would administer CPR. If a newscaster
was in an accident, he would start filming," said Kathleen. "A maintenance
worker who is in an accident would direct traffic and help clear the
road. It's my job." Kathleen said that maintenance workers must always
be vigilant, always looking around in all directions even up, because
of the possibility of things flying off ramps and bridges. "It's important
to keep your eyes on the road because the drivers aren't," advises Kathleen.
"Even with reflective orange (vests) on, we are invisible to the public."
According to District 11 Safety Officer Greg Budlong, the number one
safety rule is to face traffic whenever possible. Kathleen Curran is
proof that this rule works.
(Article from June 3, 2004
District 11 "Not to Scale" newsletter article by Sharon K. Black)
