I-15 construction worker run over, killed by truck

A West Valley man working on the I-15 reconstruction project was killed when a pickup truck backed over him Tuesday.

Leslie Sherman Baker, 52, became the first construction worker to die on the massive freeway project since it started in April 1997.Wasatch Constructors, the I-15 reconstruction contractor and Baker's employer, halted all activity following the early afternoon accident to review safety procedures with its employees. Work was to resume about noon Wednesday.

Baker was paving a gravel road on 10100 South just west of the freeway, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Verdi White II said. The driver of a construction truck was backing up slowly and didn't see Baker.

Troopers found Baker dead on the scene about 1:15 p.m. UHP is still investigating the incident, White said.

Wasatch Constructors spokesman Brian Mauldwin said Baker was a truck foreman who supervised trucks hauling concrete to paving operations.

"Apparently, a full-size pickup truck was backing up as the person (Baker) was walking away from the pickup truck, and, evidently, they didn't see each other," Mauldwin said.

Prior to the incident, more than 4.1 million hours of work had been performed on the project without a fatality, according to Mauldwin. In that time, there had been 17 accidents in which employees suffered injuries that prevented them from returning to work the next day. That frequency equals 0.8 incidents per 100 workers per year, well below the national average of 3.7, Mauldwin said.