Modesto places 3 employees on leave after worker’s death; review details fatal flaws

Modesto has placed three electricians on paid leave pending discipline, including up to the loss of their jobs, as a result of its review of last April’s electrocution of an electrician assistant who was part of a city crew installing a streetlight pole that made contact with a high-voltage power line.

The review detailed severe deficiencies in training, safety measures and other critical areas.

For instance, the electrician assistant was wearing cloth gloves — not high-voltage rated gloves — as he tried to maneuver the pole into place as it was held aloft by a type of boom truck called a Digger Derrick when the pole’s mast arm — the metal portion of the light than hangs over the street — spun and made contact with the power line.

The review stated the Digger Derrick has warning signs essentially stating “people should not come in contact with anything touching the Digger Derrick while operating near energized power lines.”

These details and others are in the city’s review of the April 9, 2018, death of 30-year-old electrician assistant Tyrone Darnell Hairston. The city released its review — consisting of its internal investigation and its Serious Accident Review Team report — to The Bee on Monday.

Modesto on Monday placed electricians Allen Garan and Ricardo Lacerda, who were working with Hairston that day, and electrical supervisor Rodney Nelson on paid leave pending discipline, which could include termination, according to the city. The city placed them on leave after reviewing the investigation and report.

These developments come as a state agency continues its investigation into the incident, which could result in criminal charges against the city.

Hairston, Garan and Lacerda were installing the streetlight at the southwest corner of the intersection at Roselle and Floyd avenues in Village I near Modesto Irrigation District power lines. They assembled the streetlight pole first, including attaching its mast arm, on the ground before rigging it to the boom.

Lacerda operated the boom by remote control. Once the streetlight had been lifted, Hairston spun the pole to align the mast arm. Garan had been watching, and he and Lacerda believed everything was safe.

Garan turned around to grab a tool from the truck. “He said, at that time, he believed the arm was ‘clear’ of the overhead power lines,” according to the city investigation. “He said he does not know how it happened that the arm swung up and hit the power line.

“ ... Mr. Garan and Mr. Lacerda both stated that, while the assembled light pole was dangling in the air and being maneuvered by Mr. Hairston, the mast arm unexpectedly rotated up and came near or in contact with the power line. There was the sound of electricity zapping.”

The review found the streetlight was “assembled and hoisted in (an) improper manner to maintain safe working clearance from high voltage lines,” states the Serious Accident Review Team report, which said this was a contributing factor in the incident.

The SART report states some of the causal factors include a lack of personal protective equipment (Hairston’s cloth gloves), the spotter was not in place, and the workers were not certified to operate a crane.

The report defines a causal factor as “(a)ny behavior, omission or deficiency that if corrected, eliminated or avoided, probably would have prevented the injury.”

The report states Public Works electrical division managers and workers presumed they did not need crane operator certification to operate the Digger Derrick “but no documentation was provided regarding the certification exemption.” The report recommends the city have workers certified.

The Serious Accident Review Team includes officials from Modesto as well as the cities of Merced, Stockton, Manteca and Patterson. The team was asked to find out what happened, why it happened and recommend steps to prevent future incidents.

The city’s internal investigation found that the only training employees receive in installing streetlight poles is on-the-job, with more experienced electricians showing less experienced ones how to do it, and the city has no written guidelines. There also was no evidence employees were holding safety meetings before starting a job.

“Past practices and lack of training may have influenced factors within the Electrical Division in relation to health and safety,” the SART report states. “After conducting multiple interviews, it was expressed by some employees that they are not being trained properly.”

And the report stated that “(f)ailure to expand the Electrical Division over multiple decades is causing a stressful atmosphere because of an increased work load placing a greater demand on the work force.”

Hairston’s father, Tyrone Alfonso Hairston, weighed in after reading the city’s internal investigation and the SART report.

“What I see, first of all, those two guys, they don’t seem to recognize the danger they put themselves and my son in,” Hairston said. “... I see a lack of regard for safety in general for the city, whether it’s on purpose or they just allowed themselves to get lax and a lack of training.”

Hairston said his own research shows that the mast arm can spin when installed using a boom. “My son was an apprentice,” he said, adding his son had been on the job for several months and this was the first day his son had worked installing a streetlight. “This is ridiculous. It’s literally embarrassing.”

Still, he has hope Modesto will do better. He said City Manager Joe Lopez called him Tuesday.

“He was very sorry about what took place,” Hairston said. “I think he is legit when he says this is not acceptable and wants to make changes and never see this happen again. I believe he was sincere. ... I don’t wish these guys (his son’s co-workers) anything bad. This is a huge burden, and I recognize that, to be part of a person losing their life. You have to wonder, ‘If I would have done things differently, if there would have been a different outcome’.”

Modesto spokesman Thomas Reeves said Modesto is taking steps to prevent something like this from happening again. “The death of an employee,” he said, “is a pivotal moment in the life of this organization and a wake-up call.”

But when asked whether employees higher up in the organization are facing discipline, Reeves said he is not aware of other investigations or potential discipline. However, Reeves said that does not mean the city is not serious about improving training and safety for its employees.

Garan declined to comment, and Lacerdo could not be reached. But they are represented by the Modesto City Employees’ Association, and Mehran Tahoori, an attorney for the MCEA, issued this statement Wednesday:

“The Modesto City Employees’ Association shares a strong interest with the City of Modesto in working to assure a safe workplace. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family, loved ones, and co-workers of Tyrone Hairston.

Regarding the City’s intention to terminate two of Tyrone’s co-workers because of this tragedy, these workers dispute many of the findings and conclusions of the investigation and intend to challenge their terminations through the mutually agreed-upon internal appeals procedure. We will be analyzing further the findings contained in the April 8, 2019, Multi-Agency Serious Accident Review Team (report) as they may relate to these two firings.”

Nelson could not be reached, and it’s not clear what discipline he faces. He is represented by the Modesto Confidential and Management Association, and a labor representative did not respond to requests for comment.

Some employees interviewed for the city’s internal investigation said Garan and Lacerdo are smart and good workers, and Nelson is extremely concerned about worker safety.

Human Resources Director Norma Santoyo said the city has recommended discipline for the three employees. She declined to say what those recommendations are and that the city needs to respect the employees’ due process rights. That includes requesting what is called a Skelly hearing to defend themselves and contest the discipline.

Santoyo said the employees have 15 days from Monday to request a hearing. She said hearings typically are held within a week or two of an employee requesting one, and the hearing officer typically makes a decision within several days. The officer can accept Modesto’s recommendations for discipline or modify them.

The employees had not requested a hearing as of Wednesday morning.

These latest developments come as the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, issued four citations and a $39,750 penalty in August against Modesto for safety violations in the incident. Modesto is appealing, but that is on hold while Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations conducts its own investigation of Hairston’s death.

Bureau investigations can result in a referral to prosecutors for criminal charges against the employer, which in this case would be Modesto, based on an investigation’s findings. The investigation of Hairston’s death has not concluded, according to Frank Polizzi, a spokesman for the state Department of Industrial Relations. Cal/OSHA is a part of the DIR.

This story was originally published April 10, 2019 at 4:57 PM.