Worker dies when
grader backs over him
WAIKOLOA RESORT, Hawaii >> A Big Island construction worker was killed yesterday when he was run over by a grader at a residential construction site, police said.
The victim, identified as Gordon Cagampang, 48, of Kailua-Kona, was working at the Kolea condominium and townhouse project in the Waikoloa Resort area, said Waimea police Capt. Chadwick Fukui.
At about 8:20 a.m., Cagampang was working at a manhole slightly smaller than those on city streets, Fukui said. To get access to some valves, Cagampang was lying on the ground, when the grader backed over him, Fukui said.
The grader operator "did not observe (him) when reversing," Fukui said.
A police statement said Cagampang suffered extensive head injuries.
Fire Capt. Michael Millare said a departmental Critical Incident Stress Team responded to the scene. Team members are not counselors but are trained to listen to the feelings of survivors after a major traumatic event, he said.
It's important for people to talk about such an incident within an hour of it taking place, he said. Several of the construction workers participated in the "debriefing," Millare said.
Police classified the case as an industrial accident and are not considering criminal charges, Fukui said.