wow, that sucks

sometimes I think I'm quite strange. I've always been fascinated with serial killers and homicides and random deaths. I love watching investigation discovery and dr. g on discovery health (the show about autopsies). I'm sure a lot of people do. but I also have wikipedia-d "random deaths" and read fatality reports on the osha and msha websites. I thought I share a couple of those shitty ways to die, in case you're interested:

• in scales mound, IL, a fire department worker searching for a missing person was killed when his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) struck a deer and rolled over - how depressing it would be to be that missing person who is eventually found and knowing that the search for you killed a person.
• in mountain home, AR, a worker was installing new cell phone cables and antennas and fell 240 feet while descending the tower - that's a loooong way.
• in carmel, IN, a maintenance worker died when the lawn mower he was riding exploded - what an unexpected thing to happen.
• in gainsville, TX, a worker was running alongside a forklift to jump on, slipped, fell, and was run over by the forklift - definitely fun and games until someone gets hurt.
• in bethesda, MD, a worker was standing on a ladder with a chain saw to cut a tree trunk and the chain saw apparently struck the victim 's neck - makes me shiver to think about
• in chagrin falls, OH, a worker was trimming a lower branch on a tree when an upper branch worked loose and fell on him, striking his head - probably why they stress consequence thinking here at the mine.
  

reading these reports help me realize the importance of consequence thinking and ensure me that the strict safety policies they have where I work are implemented for a reason. you can find these weekly reports on the osha website. they also help show that people die everyday at every kind of job, disproving the idea that mines are the most dangerous.

mining isn't the most dangerous workplace, but the hazards that exist here are much larger. a couple of weeks ago, there was a fatality at the asarco ray mine, which is where I had my first internship. a mechanic parked his truck in front of a 240 ton haul truck that was also assumed to be parked. however, the haul trucked moved forward running over the half-ton pick-up, killing the mechanic and severely injuring the passenger. it is important to remember, at a mine, that there is a lot of large equipment and you should never assume they see you. you should also never park next to or near a haul truck for any reason. haul truck drivers may not even know they ran you over either. just to get an idea the power of a haul truck, here's the aftermath:

courtesy of msha.gov

scary reminder. but also a good lesson. sad something like this has to happen for policies to be implemented. rip mr. benavidez.