KINGMAN, AZ — A cabinet-manufacturing company was cited for a worker-safety violation after a FedEx driver was killed while making a delivery there.
American Woodmark Corp. was fined $156,259 after Terry Samdal, 61, died near a loading dock on November 7.
A Mohave County Medical Examiner report said the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma.
According to an inspection by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH), Samdal was standing outside the office near a loading lock. A vehicle known as a “yard jockey” backed a trailer into the loading dock, pinning him against the dock and crushing him.
A yard jockey is used to move trailers around manufacturing yards and loading docks. The ADOSH report says the accident could have been prevented if the yard jockey’s backup alarm was operational.
The report says an inspection form - reviewed by the safety manager - indicated the backup alarm had not functioned for the past 197 inspections.
ADOSH classified the citation as “willful,” which is the most serious violation that can be levied. It’s rarely given and only when inspectors allege an employer knowingly failed to follow safety regulations or acted with indifference to employee safety.
The citation and fine was approved Thursday in a public meeting by the Industrial Commission of Arizona, the state agency that oversees ADOSH. Company representatives attended that meeting.
“I would like to offer sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Samdal. We are extremely saddened by this tragic accident,” said Robert Batty, director of manufacturing for American Woodmark Corp.
He said the company plans to contest the “willful” classification. He contends there are no federal standards related to backup alarms on over-the-road commercial vehicles.
As for Samdal’s family, they have many questions surrounding his death.
He leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
“Terry was safety, safety, safety. He was always aware of his surroundings,” said his wife, Lisa, in a phone interview with ABC15 from the couple’s home in Las Vegas.
She said her husband was a driver for three decades, the last few years with FedEx, a job that she said he loved.
“It was his dream job,” she said. “We were planning on retiring.”
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
