PORT ANGELES — A fund has been set up to help the family of a surveyor who was run over by a bulldozer at the Port Angeles Transfer Station.
Kyle Trussell, 32, a Port Angeles surveyor, remained in critical condition in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Thursday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
His pelvis and legs were crushed when he was run over by an 18-ton Caterpillar D6 bulldozer Monday as he worked on the landfill bluff stabilization project near the transfer station at 3501 W. 18th St.
A GoFundMe account has been established for Trussell’s family to help with their expenses in Seattle.
Donations can be made at http://tinyurl.com/pdn-trussellfund.
As of Thursday afternoon, $5,200 had been raised of $50,000 requested for initial expenses.
“My little brother Kyle was ran over by a bulldozer and is in Harborview. He has to have many surgeries and we are moving into our new place,” Laci Trussell wrote on the Web page.
The city is nearing completion of a $14.4 million project to remove landfill materials near the bluffs, which were in danger of falling into the Strait of Juan de Fuca; relocate the material inland; and reconstruct the bluffs to create a more natural erosion process that feeds the beaches below.
Trussell was wearing a safety orange vest and hard hat as he surveyed the slope of a hill when a bulldozer ran over him, according to the Port Angeles Police Department, which launched an initial investigation immediately after he was hurt.
It appeared Trussell was in the bulldozer operator’s blind spot on a hill at the landfill, the police investigation determined.
The bulldozer hit Trussell with the right side of the blade, knocking him to the ground, and ran over him, police said.
Treated on scene
Trussell was treated on the scene by the Port Angeles Fire Department and taken to Olympic Medical Center, then flown to Harborview.
The state Department of Labor and Industries has opened an investigation, spokesman Tim Church said Wednesday.
The primary focus of the investigation will be on Magnus Pacific environmental construction services of Everett, which is managing the landfill reconstruction project, Church said.
A secondary part of the investigation will look into the safety practices of Trussell’s employer, Northwest Territories Inc.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
