Sheriff's officials identify truck driver killed at Green Tree Boulevard extension project
The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office has identified the construction worker killed at the Green Tree Boulevard extension project site in Victorville.
Sheriff’s officials reported that at 10:30 a.m. on June 22, truck driver Robert Sierra Jr., 52, of Victorville was pronounced deceased at the site off Ridgecrest Road.
The SBC District Attorney’s Office and OSHA are investigating the industrial accident, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Tricia Blake.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene at 10:05 a.m. and discovered that the worker, later identified as Sierra, had suffered fatal injuries.
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It’s believed that a piece of heavy construction equipment, possibly an excavator, fell on a semi-truck, which trapped Sierra inside at the job site near Ridgecrest Road and Yates Road near Spring Valley Lake.
Firefighters arrived at the scene and extricated Sierra, who was later pronounced deceased, sheriff’s officials said.
“We were extremely saddened to learn about the tragic accident that resulted in the death of a worker at the construction site,” City of Victorville spokeswoman Sue Jones told the Daily Press on Thursday. “ We extend our condolences to the family and friends who are grieving the loss of their loved one.”
The official cause of the accident is under investigation, Jones added.
First construction death
In March 2021, construction worker Isaac Lopez, 45, was killed and three others injured after an SUV ran into them on Hesperia Road south of Green Tree Boulevard.
Sheriff's spokesperson Mara Rodriguez at the time said four construction workers were struck by a Chevrolet Suburban. One worker was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the scene, the three injured workers were taken to hospitals, with one being airlifted.
They were released later that night after suffering various injuries, according to Rick Monge, a vice president with James McMinn Inc., or JMI, the company that employed Lopez and the three other workers.
The project
The Green Tree extension project will extend the boulevard east over the BNSF railroad tracks via the construction of a new 600-foot bridge, which is being constructed.
The bridge will connect Green Tree Boulevard from Hesperia Road to Ridgecrest/Yates roads east of the railroad tracks and north of SVL. The project also includes improvements to Hesperia Road.
The entire project is expected to be completed by spring of 2023, city staffers told the Daily Press.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Industrial accident claims life of Victorville man. OSHA, DA investigates
