Mechanical, Human Error Cited In Highway Dept Lift Incident

By John Voket

Both mechanical and human error were cited as contributing to an incident that left a town Highway department pickup truck with several thousand dollars worth of damage. First Selectman Pat Llodra told The Newtown Bee this week that the investigation into the matter is now closed and that the mechanical issue that caused a vehicle lift in the town garage to fail has been inspected and repaired.

She also confirmed that a supervisory member of the department who was notified about the failing lift came to the garage and saw that there was a problem, but failed to do anything at the time to correct it.

Two days later, when town employees arrived at work, according to Mrs Llodra, they found the pickup truck wedged into the lift at about a 45 degree angle because one side had depressed about three feet while the other side remained in place with one side of the truck suspended about six feet off the ground.

The vehicle was left suspended on the lift when town crews left on Friday, June 17, because the vehicle was awaiting maintenance that was reportedly scheduled to begin on Monday, June 20. But a call was reportedly made on June 18 by a town worker to a supervisor noting that the appearance of the lift was askew.

The first selectman said that the supervisor subsequently responded to the garage, saw that the truck was listing, and “decided to leave it.”

“The condition of the truck was brought to the attention of a supervisor who chose not to intervene after an inspection,” Mrs Llodra said, adding that the “human error is being addressed internally.”

During a Board of Selectman meeting July 5, Public Works Director Fred Hurley was prompted to report on the incident, and told the board that the lift is mechanically safe, and that he plans to address the operational issues to ensure “consistency with the operation of the equipment.”

Mr Hurley also assured the board that while there was apparently some misjudgment that contributed to increased damage of the truck, there was no willful intent involved, and that some of the damage will be covered by the town’s insurance carrier.

A heavy-duty wrecker was required to remove the pickup from its precarious perch using a cradle device. Mrs Llodra was informed of the incident after Mr Hurley arrived at the town garage June 20 to see a heavy-duty tow truck with its carrying boom extended into one of the bays in the process of dislodging the vehicle from the failed lift.