Safety & Health
Utility Worker Dies After Being Struck by Excavator at Michigan Road Project
A 23-year-old was struck by the bucket of an excavator and died from his injuries at a Michigan Dept. of Transportation project in southeast Michigan.
Credit: Photo collage by Scott Hilling/ENR, original construction site image by Getty Images/ smodj; original police line image by Getty images/ mbbirdy
A 23-year-old utility worker died June 30 after being struck by an excavator while working on a $45-million Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) project in Brighton, Mich. in southeastern Michigan.
Ryan Starnes, employed by the prime contractor, Dan’s Excavating Inc. of Shelby Township, Mich., “was working in an excavated hole in the road when he was struck by the excavator bucket,” according to a Michigan State Police news release. The incident occurred at about 3:15 p.m.
Starnes, of St. Clair Shores, Mich., was transported to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.
The project on Grand River Avenue near Interstate 96 involves reconstructing the interchange as a diverging diamond interchange and removing two Interstate 96 bridges over Grand River Avenue.
In a brief description on its website, The Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration (MIOSHA) said Starnes “was between the bucket of a large excavator and a concrete structure. The bucket was resting on the ground. The operator of the excavator didn’t see the employee and moved the bucket and struck the victim.”
MIOSHA is continuing to investigate the incident.
“The accident is still under investigation so we aren’t able to add any information,” said Justin Peyerk, president of Dan’s Excavating. “All we can say is we offer our thoughts and prayers.”
Jeff Bigelow, project engineer for Great Lakes Engineering Group, the engineer on the project, also offered condolences.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. It was a horrible, horrible accident,” he said.
Peyerk confirmed that Dan’s Excavating also employs Starne’s uncle and grandfather who, according to local news reports, were on the scene when the accident occurred.
MDOT spokesperson Jocelyn Garza said the agency cannot comment on the specifics of what happened but added that “a top priority of our department has always been maintaining safe work zones, for road workers and the traveling public."
In another fatal incident, a laborer died July 2 after he was hit by a truck at a construction site in Detroit, according to MIOSHA, which says that “a concrete mixing truck backed into the 47-year-old and pinned him between the vehicle and a dumpster.”
MIOSHA is also investigating the incident but did not identify the person or have any additional information.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for Starnes.
