Trucker crushed unloading lumber in California

The Trucker News Services

2/14/2008

OAKLAND, Calif. — A 43-year-old Antioch, Calif., truck driver was killed when the load of lumber he was trying to unload fell on top of him this morning in the Oakland hills above the Claremont Resort, according to various news reports.

The victim, whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin, was a driver for Economy Lumber in Oakland. Authorities said he was unloading more than three tons of lumber from his flatbed truck for a residential construction site.

Oakland Police Officer Murray Hoyle said the truck was parked on a steep grade and when the driver started to unload the boards, the load slipped and fell on of him, crushing him. He was caught between the truck and the hillside, witnesses said.

"He was unloading and gravity got the best of him," Hoyle said.

Construction workers used a forklift to try to remove the lumber, but their efforts were too late. The Oakland Fire Department was called to the scene.

The driver's name was not immediately released pending notification of next of kin.