Last month, a city water worker was killed when a high-pressure water hose operating at around 1,000 psig struck the worker in the head. The police report used the phrase “the deceased had performed the task countless times and knew to keep his foot on top of the pressure line“.
REPORT: Water crews responded to a leak when a hose fatally struck an employee
A city worker tragically died from blunt force trauma after being struck by a high-pressure hose during a routine water line repair. Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection employees were attempting to shut off a water line due to a leak on Gilmer Road when one (1) worker was fatally struck in the head by a high-pressure hose.
A member of the city’s Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection crew died following the workplace accident on March 16. Reports from the Gregg County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Office list his cause of death as blunt force trauma after the water hose struck him in the head.
According to police reports obtained through a public information request, the deceased and two (2) other workers were trying to turn off a water line in the 100 block of Gilmer Road because of a water leak north of the area.
The crew chief told investigators he was operating the controls for the high-pressure hose while the deceased kept his foot on the hose to maintain a “good amount of foot pressure” as it ran into the hole. The crew chief said the hose came out of the hole and struck his left leg and right foot. He then turned off the machine and, when he turned around, saw that the deceased had been struck in the face or neck, according to the report.
The crew chief began yelling for help and told police the deceased had performed the task countless times and knew to keep his foot on top of the pressure line. The crew chief said the deceased was operating the line to break up built-up dirt and rocks inside the water line so it could be accessed, the report stated.
When the machine is turned on, the pressure typically jumps to between 1,000 and 1,500 PSI. The crew chief told police the line pushed itself out of the hole and struck the deceased, who immediately fell to the ground. The other workers called 911.
Another employee at the scene told police the deceased had been on the job for approximately three years.