Meekatharra fatal crash: Three mining and construction companies plead guilty after pump killed truck driver

Three mining and construction services have been fined $770,000 over the death of a truck driver, who suffered catastrophic injuries when part of a pump assembly overhung into the opposite lane of the road. The 56-year-old truck driver was driving just north of Meekatharra on July 25, 2022 when the boom of a mobile water pump, meant to be secured on a semi-trailer driving the opposite direction, struck through the windscreen and killed him. The boom was from a MegaFill pump — a mobile water pump with two booms that can unfold and rotate away if not properly secured. The booms are expected to be secured for transport with a chain attached to it, a travel mount strap placed over the boom, and a travel mount bolt attaching the boom to the pump frame. However, a WorkSafe investigation found only a ratchet strap was placed over the boom for transport by RGR Road Haulage but the workers did not attach the chain or the travel bolt. Neither Resource Operations and Maintenance Services, who provided the water pump, or Diverse Management Services, who hired the machinery from Technologies International Group, ensured the operating procedure was provided to the workers or that the pump was demobilised. The investigation found it was reasonably practicable for the hiring company Technologies International to fit an engineering control on the pumps to ensure the booms could not rotate or move during transport. The company failed to implement this measure before the incident and so failed to comply with their health and safety duty. After the incident, Technologies International designed a new restraint system that removed the risk of the boom moving during transport. Resource Operations, Diverse, and Technologies International (trading as Welltech Total Water Management) all pleaded guilty in Perth Magistrates Court to failing to ensure the health and safety of others was not put at risk from their work. On October 14, Resource Operations and Diverse were each fined $160,000 for their part in the death while Technologies International was fined $450,000 for its part. WorkSafe commissioner Sally North said the death was a tragic reminder of the importance of closely following operating procedures, especially when transporting large machinery. “A truck driver was just doing his normal job of driving when, out of nowhere at night, he was struck and killed by an unsecured section of a load being transported in the opposite direction,” Ms North said. “None of the companies took all reasonably practicable measures to reduce the risk of an incident of this type, and the end result was that a man sadly lost his life.” RGR Road Haulage also plead guilty to a separate charge but is yet to be sentenced.