Union, KY — April 23, 2025, one person was killed in an early morning dump truck accident in a residential neighborhood on Galileo Boulevard.

Authorities said a hydraulic line blew as a man was working on the truck, causing the concrete-laden bed to fall on him.

The 28-year-old man, whose name has not been made public, died as a result, according to authorities.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Boone County accident. The incident is still being investigated.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

When someone is killed while working on a dump truck in a residential area, the first and most important legal question is whether the equipment was properly maintained and whether the work was being done under safe conditions. A hydraulic failure that causes a truck bed, especially one filled with concrete ,to collapse on a person is not just a mechanical failure. It’s a breakdown in safety procedures that should never happen if the equipment and worksite are being managed responsibly.

Dump trucks rely on hydraulic systems to raise and lower the bed, and when that system fails under load, the result is often catastrophic. That’s why manufacturers, mechanics, and employers are expected to implement safeguards, like safety props or mechanical locks, that hold the bed in place during maintenance. If those devices weren’t used, or if the person working on the truck was never trained to use them, then the responsibility may fall on the employer, the owner of the truck or the person responsible for supervising the work.

This incident also raises questions about the condition of the truck itself. A failed hydraulic line suggests a lack of preventative maintenance or a defect in the equipment. If the truck had known hydraulic issues or if the parts failed prematurely, that points to either a failure in upkeep or a potential manufacturing defect, both of which carry legal consequences, depending on who was responsible for inspecting and maintaining the vehicle.

The fact that this happened in a residential neighborhood adds another layer of concern. Even if the work was being done off the road, heavy equipment maintenance in public or semi-public spaces comes with a duty to control the environment and follow safe operating practices. The presence of a concrete load only increases the danger and raises the question of why the bed was loaded during maintenance in the first place.

The bottom line is that working under a raised truck bed is one of the most dangerous scenarios in heavy equipment maintenance. Everyone in the industry knows it, and that’s why the law expects multiple layers of protection to be in place. When those protections fail — or worse, are never used — the outcome is too often fatal. The investigation into this death must focus on whether the safety measures that could have prevented it were ignored, overlooked or never provided in the first place. Because when a worker is crushed by the equipment they were trying to fix, it’s not just an accident. It’s a sign that someone failed to take their responsibility for safety seriously enough.