Man Dies After Hydraulic Boom Pins Him To Billboard

PALM HARBOR, FL — Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an apparent accidental death that claimed the life of a 58-year-old Tarpon Springs man Wednesday morning. According to the agency, Robert Tanner died shortly after the accident occurred involving a hydraulic boom and a billboard outside the Glory Days Grill in Palm Harbor.

Tanner and Charles Walker, 50, of New Port Richey were working on an electronic billboard outside the 34200 U.S. 19 N. business around 11 a.m. Aug. 9. Deputies say both men are employed by Accent Neon and Sign Company.

Tanner, an email from the sheriff’s office said, was using a hydraulic bucket truck to work on the sign. Walker was on the ground.

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Tanner was inside the hydraulic boom’s bucket about 20 feet above the ground when he leaned over the boom to access the control panel switches, the email said. He was trying to reach an electrical access panel on the sign at the time.

When Tanner leaned on the boom, “his body inadvertently activated the switch causing the boom to rise upward,” the email said. The motion pinned Tanner’s torso between the bucket and the sign’s metal overhang. He was unable to release the switch, the sheriff’s office said, due to the hydraulic pressure.

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“Walker witnessed Tanner in distress and tried to reverse the boom by accessing a control panel on the side of the truck,” the email said. “Walker was unable to reverse the hydraulic pressure or override the control panel.”

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue paramedics responded to the scene, the sheriff’s office said. It took more than 20 minutes to free Tanner from the bucket. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified of the death investigation, the sheriff’s office reported. The death appears to be accidental in nature, the agency said.

No further information is available at this time.

Image via Shutterstock