CHESTER, NY — A Warren County highway worker was burned late Tuesday when a load of hot asphalt was accidentally dumped on the cab of the dump truck she was driving, officials said.
The worker was treated at Glens Falls Hospital and released after the accident at the Peckham Industries plant on Route 9 in Chestertown and was not at work Wednesday.
Officials said the worker was pulling under a hopper to have asphalt put in the truck, but the load was dumped on the cab instead of the truck’s bed.
Warren County Public Works Superintendent Jeff Tennyson said he could not discuss the extent of the employee’s injuries, but said they were not considered life-threatening.
The truck, valued at $220,000 or so when fully equipped, wasn’t as fortunate, as Tennyson said it was unclear whether it could be repaired. It suffered significant damage, with portions of the cab melted by the molten material.
“It’s in the hands of the county attorney’s office and our insurance agent at this point,” he said. “It was an unfortunate accident and we are making sure our employee is taken care of.”
County officials were looking into who was to blame as of Wednesday.
The driver was pulling under a hopper to get the material at the time, but it was not detailed whether she stopped where she shouldn’t have or the hopper door was opened at the wrong time.
“That’s not clear yet as we continue to investigate what happened,” county Attorney Brian Reichenbach said.
A call to Peckham Industries in Chester was referred to the company’s Kingsbury office, and messages left there and at the company’s Westchester County headquarters were not immediately returned.
The county worker was picking up asphalt for a paving project on Harrisburg Road in Stony Creek. Tennyson said the accident shouldn’t have a big impact on the completion of that work.