Bridge Inspector Dies After Cherry Picker Accident
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Traffic was backed up on Interstate 279 for most of the afternoon while investigators tried to determine what went wrong in a cherry picker a bridge inspector was operating.
State police, Pittsburgh police and representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration all spent the afternoon under the East Ohio Street overpass surveying the evidence and the scene of an accident that happened around 11:30 a.m.
Pennsylvania State Trooper Robin Mungo talked about the incident.
"We had an individual who was contracted through PennDOT to do a bridge inspection," said Trooper Mungo. "Apparently, he was inside the basket, the lift, the cherry picker - which he controlled. For some unfortunate reason, he got too close to the beam and crushed himself."
Police say the victim was spotted by a second bridge inspector who found him unresponsive. A state trooper performed CPR until medics arrived.
The victim was taken by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:40 p.m.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the victim as 58-year-old Tripat Mann of Green Tree.
OSHA has taken over the investigation and will determine if it was equipment failure or operator error.
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