March incident at Port of Stockton saw worker pinned between railcar, loader - Trains

Apr 09, 2025

| Last updated on April 8, 2025

NTSB releases preliminary report on accident that seriously injured Hulcher Services employee

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WASHINGTON — A Hulcher Services employee was seriously injured when he was pinned between a rubber-tire loader and a railcar during a rerailing operation at the Port of Stockton, Calif., the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary investigation report released today (April 7, 2025).

The incident occurred March 11 at about 3:03 p.m., but few details were available at the time [see “NTSB investigating incident …,” Trains News Wire, March 14, 2025].

According to the report, the Central California Traction Co., which performs contract switching for the Port of Stockton, had hired Hulcher to rerail four cars that derailed on March 10, about 7 p.m. The injured employee was one of eight assigned to the job, and was working with the loader to move a previously rerailed car, to make room for rerailing of the fourth and final derailed car. After the loader was chained to the rerailed car, the employee released the car’s hand brake; it began to roll toward the loader and pinned the employee as he was attempting to reengage the hand brake.

The employee was taken by first responders to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with six broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He was released several days later.

The report says the ongoing NTSB investigation will focus on Hulcher’s training, written standard operating procedures, and safety documents.