Construction Site Death at Virginia Tech: Safety Must Come First

Dan Frith

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Local news sources are reporting that just a few days ago, 61-year old Bonnie Tinker of Portland, Oregon was visiting the Virginia Tech campus when she was struck and killed by a dump truck at a construction site on campus. Tinker was one of 1,300 people attending a conference on the campus. The conference was for the Religious Society of Friends, a Quaker group dedicated to social justice. Tinker was often described as a peace activist.

Tinker was cycling through the intersection of West Campus and Drill Field Drives when the dump truck struck her. Students and others familiar with the campus did not identify the intersection as a dangerous. One student, sophomore Shane Duncan, had biked on campus and said that separate lanes on both sides of West Campus Drive made it easy for vehicles to share the road. The intersection was located in an open area. It is still unclear exactly how the accident occurred and police are continuing to investigate.

While currently there is no indication of who was at fault or exactly how the accident occurred, the fact is that construction sites can be dangerous areas. In fact, the OSHA (Occupations Safety and Heath Administration) assumes that there will be over 1,000 construction workers who will suffer a work-related fatality each year. The National Safety Council and Bureau of Labor Statistics track the number of construction-related injuries – but there is little data on the kind of accidents such as the one that took Tinker’s life. About 17% of all personal injury claims related to construction sites are made by non-workers. So while it is less common for passers-by and non-workers to be injured or killed, construction sites do pose a danger and make it important that pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers remain aware of their surroundings on and around construction sites.

My guess is that the tragedy at Virginia Tech could have been avoided.