The City of Gilroy will conduct a
”
comprehensive investigation
”
into a Monday incident that resulted in the first death of a
city employee in the line of duty, an official said. LeeAnn
McPhillips, the city’s human resources director and risk manager,
wrote in an e-mail that the city would investigate the death of
David Vogel, 40, a maintenance worker who died after he was struck
by a vehicle while performing routine street inspections on Farrell
Avenue.
The City of Gilroy will conduct a “comprehensive investigation” into a Monday incident that resulted in the first death of a city employee in the line of duty, an official said.
LeeAnn McPhillips, the city’s human resources director and risk manager, wrote in an e-mail that the city would investigate the death of David Vogel, 40, a maintenance worker who died after he was struck by a vehicle while performing routine street inspections on Farrell Avenue.
The investigation will include “an evaluation of the use of the city’s safety procedures when conducting work in the roadway,” McPhillips wrote.
When asked what Vogel and other city workers were doing when the accident occurred – as well as what safety procedures would be required and whether workers followed them – she said, “those matters will be addressed in the city’s investigation.”
Joe Kline, Gilroy public information officer, said he thought Vogel was doing “something with manhole covers” that required him to walk in the middle of the street, but he wasn’t certain.
“The city regularly trains on work zone safety procedures, to include roadway work, so that employees understand what is expected of them when performing their duties,” McPhillips wrote.
McPhillips said the most recent work zone safety training was provided in November 2010.
Vogel was a full-time city employee since 1998, according to a city press release.
The driver of the of the white minivan involved in Monday’s accident was interviewed by the Gilroy Police Department following the incident and was not arrested, according to Sgt. Chad Gallacinao.
He said further information regarding the driver’s identity could not be released, citing a state vehicle code pertaining to confidentiality. He said an investigation was ongoing.
The GPD would be required by law to release the driver’s information if the driver was arrested for a crime, which cannot yet be determined because of the active investigation, Gallacinao wrote in an e-mail.
One resident, who did not give his name, said speeding, careless drivers sometimes make Farrell Avenue an unsafe street.
“They come flying around here,” he said, pointing to a stretch between Monterey Road and Church Street.
He said the city should install a three-way stop at the corner of Farrell Avenue and Severance Street, the intersection nearest to where Vogel was struck.
“How much money is it worth to save another life?” he asked. “That could have been prevented.”
The man said he had seen city maintenance workers in and around the street last week without orange safety cones or flags present.
Whether city workers were inspecting the street the week before the accident was not addressed specifically in McPhillips’ e-mail, which reiterated the city would be conducting an investigation.
Javier Hernandez, a resident who lives near the scene of the accident, said he recalled seeing Vogel wearing a green-and-orange reflective safety vest the morning of the accident. He said he observed city workers inspecting manhole covers and sewage drains before the accident.
He also said drivers had a tendency to speed on that street, which has a posted school-zone speed limit of 25 mph because of its proximity to Antonio Del Buono Elementary School
“They don’t go 25 though,” he said.
Hernandez, however, never thought someone would be hit by a car.
“It freaked me out,” he said, adding he lost sleep Monday night thinking about the accident.
City of Gilroy Chaplain Malcolm McPhail said Vogel’s family members and co-workers expressed great sadness following his death.
“Everybody’s shook up,” McPhail said. “They feel like they’ve lost a member of their team. The city is very sad, co-workers are very said. It’s been a rough go.”
McPhail said he did not know Vogel, but “heard so many good things about him,” speaking with Vogel’s family and friends.
Kline said the city’s maintenance workers were a close-knit group.
“They’ve been hit very hard,” he said.
