Crew member was still alive as hot asphalt seared his skin

Summary: A 41-year-old staff member was horribly burned after he was buried underneath a load of hot asphalt that landed on top of him after he’d finished repairing the hydraulic line that controlled the lift gate on the back of a dump truck.

The incident: Shortly after he arrived to pick up a load of hot asphalt at the AJ Materials facility in Jackson, MS, Darrell Sheriff, 41, a contract driver, noticed that the lift gate on the back of the dump truck he’d been assigned to operate wasn’t working properly.

As best Sheriff could figure, something was wrong with the hydraulic line that controlled the lifting mechanism for the gate. So Sheriff climbed underneath the back of the truck and began working on the hydraulic line.

As soon as the hydraulic line was repaired, however, the lifting mechanism activated and the back gate unexpectedly opened. Tons of asphalt heated to 300ºF poured out of the truck bed and buried Sheriff.

The response: Coworkers rushed over to assist Sheriff. They were horrified at the sight of his body being horribly burned. Sheriff was still conscious but he was in agony as the asphalt seared his skin. Eventually, his severely injured body couldn’t take it anymore and he passed out.

Officers with the Jackson Police Department arrived a short time later, but Sheriff’s injuries were too severe for him to survive. He was soon declared dead.

The aftermath: Sheriff’s family members were devastated by the incident, said Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade, who spoke with them at the scene. Wade said the family was shocked and traumatized, and rightly so.

“It was horrific,” said Wade. “It was horrifying, and it was something that you do not want to see.”

(From the December 2, 2024, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)