Hy-Tec, Quinton Marcus Vollmerhausen in court over Gympie quarry accident

A mining company and one of its heavy machinery drivers have been sentenced over a sickening incident at a Wide Bay quarry which crushed a fellow worker between two vehicles.

Taken on the day of the incident. Hy-Tec Industries (Qld) pty Ltd and Quinton Marcus Vollmerhausen each faced Maryborough Magistrates Court on separate dates for breaching Queensland’s Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act in the wake of the August 16, 2022 incident at Hy-Tec’s Scotchy Pocket quarry, north of Gympie.

A Gympie region mining company and one of its drivers have each been sentenced for their failures which resulted in a quarry worker being seriously injured when he was crushed between a fuel truck and a loader.

Hy-Tec Industries (Qld) Pty Ltd and Quinton Marcus Vollmerhausen each faced Maryborough Magistrates Court on separate dates for breaching Queensland’s Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act in the wake of the August 16, 2022 incident at Hy-Tec’s Scotchy Pocket quarry, north of Gympie.

Reports published online on the state government’s health and safety prosecution website say Hy-Tec pleaded guilty in court on August 21, to the charges with failing to discharge their obligations under the Act, and failing to ensure risk to workers at the quarry was an acceptable level.

The report stated a worker at the site was “crushed between (a) fuel truck and a loader” when the loader’s driver “did not sound his horn and did not check his surroundings before reversing the loader”.

The injured man suffered “a fractured lower back, crushed pelvis, nerve damage, vascular damage, and damage of his bowel”, it read.

Hy-Tec Industries (Qld) Pty Ltd and Quinton Marcus Vollmerhausen each faced Maryborough Magistrates Court on separate dates for breaching Queensland’s Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act in the wake of the August 16, 2022 incident at Hy-Tec’s Scotchy Pocket quarry, north of Gympie. Photo taken on the day of the incident.

His injuries were so severe he was flown to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital for further treatment.

The published report stated Hy-Tec failed in its responsibilities to keep risk at an acceptable level by not providing dedicated refuelling areas that separated workers from heavy equipment, not ensuring vehicles “be shut down, isolated and locked out while the refuelling task took place”.

There was an allegation Hy-Tec’s failures caused the man’s injuries.

The report stated magistrate John Milburn took into account the company's extensive training requirements for employees, lack of previous criminal history, work to address the failures, and co-operation, but said the accident was “foreseeable” and its failures were serious.

Mr Milburn fined Hy-Tec $65,000 and ordered it pay $9258.71 in costs.

No conviction was recorded against the company.

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The injured man suffered “a fractured lower back, crushed pelvis, nerve damage, vascular damage, and damage of his bowel” when he was crushed between two vehicles at the quarry site.

Vollmerhausen, the loader driver, pleaded guilty in the Maryborough court three weeks later to failing to manage the risk of injury to another person.

The online report stated Vollmerhausen failed to check his surroundings were clear, or to communicate by honking his horn, before reversing the loader he was driving.

It said Mr Milburn noted Vollmerhausen’s remorse, but also took into account a victim impact statement from the injured worker that he “suffered, continues to suffer and will continue to suffer physical and psychological harm”.

He placed Vollmerhausen on probation for 21 months, ordered he serve 200 hours community service, and pay $3101.40 in costs.

A conviction was recorded against Vollmerhausen.

Originally published as Hy-Tec, Quinton Marcus Vollmerhausen in court over Gympie quarry accident