The City of Gilroy received two citations totaling $21,600 Tuesday from the State’s Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) related to of maintenance worker on March 14.
Vogel was struck by and killed by a van while performing a routine utility making assignment on Farrell Avenue.
One Cal/OSHA citation alleges that the city failed to effectively implement a written policy identifying hazards, and evaluating procedures for employees performing work in streets with moving traffic. A second citation states that the city did not properly monitor traffic controls, as legally required when employees are working alongside traffic on a moving street.
The city seeks to appeal the citations. The Gilroy Police Department’s Major Investigation Team concluded that the primary cause of the accident was an inattentive driver who was not paying attention to the road when his vehicle struck Vogel.
City Administrator Thomas Haglund stated that he “respectfully disagrees” with the Cal/OSHA citations, he said in a press release.
“Our safety programs are strong, active, and modeled on the State policies and the City and its employees take worker and public safety very seriously,” said Haglund, pointing out that the city received a 100 percent rating from the Association of Bay Area Governments for “establishing a qualified risk management framework.”
Vogel and his co-worker “initially did not believe they would have to enter the roadway” the day of the accident, stated compiled by the Fremont firm Du-all Safety.
The work Vogel and his co-worker set out to accomplish, “typically takes less than a minute,” the report continued. Temporary traffic controls (TTCs) are “not always utilized for short-term work.”
Still, it said, the city used other “short-term protective measures that day.”
A follow-up will be available to this story when more information is available.
