Marc “Coco” Tapia’s December death – which resulted from injuries he sustained while at work for the city of Ark City – was caused by an accident that might have been prevented by well-documented safety training and better maintenance of the street sweeper Tapia used to do his work, according to a formal report.
Both the Ark City Police Dept. and Kansas Dept. of Labor conducted investigations into the death of the 53-year-old Tapia.
He died at a hospital Dec. 21, 2017 after being crushed between the street sweeper he was cleaning and a city truck. The accident occurred around 1:40 p.m. that day at the Ark City central shops, 1407 W. Madison.
Among the state’s findings was a determination that, due to multiple braking issues, “The Elgin Pelican P-1500 street sweeper was not safe to operate.” The Dept. of Labor said the city was also unable to produce any record or documentation of proper training of employees in the safe use of the street sweeper.
The city was given until March 6 of this year to rectify those hazards which were described by the state Dept. of Labor as “serious.” Written explanations of the corrective behavior were to be submitted to the state.
In a letter dated March 5, 2018, Tamara Niles, legal counsel for the city of Ark City, informed the state that the city was improving documentation of training. That was to include implementing individualized training created by Kansas Municipal Utilities, a statewide association.
Also, the city planned to test operators every three years to certify they were properly qualified to safely operate vehicles and equipment.
Niles added that, though the training could not be documented, Tapia had been trained in safe usage of the sweeper by its past two operators.
In regard to the poorly maintained street sweeper, Niles told the state the city was not aware of the defects. Mr. Tapia, the primary operator of the sweeper, was said to have failed to abide by handbook procedures that required daily inspection of city vehicles.
It would have been his job to inspect the sweeper and make notification regarding defects and the need for repairs.
On Dec. 26, 2017, the city shut down all equipment and vehicle operations so that equipment could be thoroughly inspected by supervisors and the city engineer. All defects were corrected before equipment and vehicles were put back into service, Niles told the state.
The city was also working with Kansas Municipal Utilities to create daily inspection checklists for equipment operators. Periodic supervisor inspections were also planned. The city also plans to maintain files on each vehicle or equipment for the life span of that vehicle or equipment.
The state concluded that more thorough safety training and better maintenance of the sweeper might have prevented Tapia’s death.
POLICE INVESTIGATION
Ryan L. Hopper – a 24-year-old Kansas Dept. of Corrections inmate in just his second day on the job, when the accident occurred – was inside the cab of the street sweeper that struck Mr. Tapia.
Information from the subsequent police investigation was eventually forwarded to the Cowley County Attorney’s Office for consideration of possible criminal charges. County attorney Larry Schwartz determined Tapia’s death was an accident and said this week no charges were filed against Hopper or anyone else.
In response to inquiries from NewsCow-KSOK, Niles said the case was closed. More than 180 pages of documents regarding the multiple investigations, were released to NewsCow-KSOK following an open records request.
Hopper, in a written statement to police dated the day of Tapia’s death, said he arrived back at the central shops around 12:30 p.m. Coco Tapia asked Hopper to clean the inside of the sweeper.
Tapia had the sweeper on a concrete slab and was washing the exterior.
Mr. Hopper was not trained or authorized by the city to run the sweeper.
The machine was running, which is necessary for it to be properly cleaned, according to a police report. Hopper got into the cab and began cleaning the dash and interior with a rag.
Then as he cleaned the center console, he saw dirty towels and a clipboard. Hopper moved the items from one seat to another and at that point the street sweeper began moving backward.
“I started yelling for help and I panicked,” Hopper wrote in the police report. “And I started hitting what I thought was the break (sic) and it didn’t work.”
Hopper attempted unsuccessfully to shut the machine down using its key.
The sweeper continued moving backward and struck a city truck. Tapia is said to have attempted to make his way toward the door of the sweeper to stop it.
“It (sweeper) rolled into a truck and I panicked even more,” Hopper wrote. “Then I saw Coco in between the truck and the vehicle I was in. Then Coco was on the ground.”
Investigators noted that Hopper was visibly upset and crying following the accident. Two witnesses, David Beasley and Joshua J. Munelio, gave very similar accounts of the accident.
It is believed that in the process of cleaning, Hopper inadvertently caused the sweeper to begin moving. The sweeper hit Tapia and kept moving backward.
It rolled more than 90 feet before coming to a stop.
CPR was administered at the scene and Tapia was transported to a hospital for treatment. He died later that day as a result of multiple blunt force injuries, according to an autopsy report.
Det. Lt. Jim Holloway, with the Ark City police department, visited the central shop a day after the accident and inspected and drove the Elgin sweeper. Investigators noted the foot pedal was not working or adjusted properly.
The sweeper used a hydrostatic drive meaning it was meant to come to a stop when the operator’s foot left the pedal. The Ark City sweeper did not stop but kept moving forward or backward at a very slow place.
It was noted that the brake pedal required significant force to bring the sweeper to a stop. Also, the emergency handle and parking brake appeared to have not been used in some time, Holloway wrote in his report, and was very difficult to engage and did not hold.
On Feb. 28, 2018, Elgin conducted their own inspection and found the same mechanical deficiencies.
In a letter to the Kansas Dept. of Labor, Niles, the city’s counsel, noted that Tapia had not used readily-available chocks to prevent the equipment from rolling back.
The Elgin brand sweeper was older. The city had recently acquired a new Global brand machine and Tapia had gone through special training to use it
His supervisor told police the city was using both machines and doing double shifts cleaning in the morning and at night. With two machines, there was always one ready to go.
