Worker dies in dump truck accident

The Daily Inter Lake

A 35-year-old Kalispell man was crushed to death when the hydraulics on a dump truck failed Monday afternoon as he tried to repair the truck.

Robert Lynn Byrd died instantly, according to Sheriff/Coroner Mike Meehan.

The accident occurred just north of Two Mile Drive adjacent to Glenwood Drive, according to a press release from the Kalispell Police Department.

Police said Byrd and another man were clearing snow in a construction parking lot Monday afternoon when the equipment malfunctioned.

The box of the older two-ton dump truck was fully raised while the two men were working between the box and the frame of the truck.

When the hydraulic system apparently lost pressure, the box fell, trapping Byrd, although the other man escaped. The co-worker quickly raised the box, removed Byrd and attempted life-saving measures, but he was dead by the time emergency workers arrived.

Kalispell detectives are investigating the accident.