Man Dies in Rio Vista Excavator Accident Monday

By: BCN News
A Pittsburg man died when the excavator he was in fell off of a barge in the Sacramento River near Rio Vista on Monday afternoon, a Solano County sheriff's deputy said.
           
The Solano County coroner's office today identified the man as 49-year-old Richard Wayne Alexander.
           
The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. in a deep-water channel of the river near Three Mile Slough Bridge, sheriff's Deputy Daryl Snedeker said.
           
Greg Siggins, a spokesman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said Alexander was inside an excavator that was being transported on a barge to DI Aggregate's sand mining operation on Decker Island.
           
The company has a plant on Decker Island and load-out facilities on Mare Island in Vallejo and in Antioch, according to its website.
         
Siggins described the excavator as a tractor with a crane and a bucket on the end. It was found toppled over in about 15 feet of water.
           
The Solano County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to the incident, Siggins said.
           
Cal/OSHA also responded Monday, and has six months to complete its investigation into the incident, Siggins said.
           
Alexander's body was recovered shortly after 5:30 p.m. Monday, and an autopsy is scheduled for today, coroner's office Deputy Jackson Harris said.