'I only saw his little boots': Teen crushed to death at construction site by wheel loader while he was clearing debris from a hole, lawsuit says

The household of an Oregon teen who was killed portion moving astatine his operation occupation is suing the company, claiming his death could person been prevented.

Lucas Gray, 18, was moving for ICON Construction and Development successful July 2025, a summertime occupation helium took earlier helium near to commencement college. One week earlier his past day, Gray was astatine a operation tract successful Oregon City, Oregon, and was lying connected the crushed clearing debris from a spread erstwhile helium was tally implicit by a 30,500-pound John Deere 544L instrumentality loader and crushed to death. When his mother rushed to the scene, she said he was already covered successful a yellowish tarp, a watercourse of humor staining the pavement astir his body.

Catherine Gray told section Fox affiliate KPTV that erstwhile she arrived astatine the tract connected July 23, 2025, "I lone saw his small boots and his chapeau disconnected to the broadside and a travel of humor moving down the street." Lucas Gray was pronounced deceased astatine the scene. Oregon OSHA investigated the incidental and successful their report, they wrote that Gray was "reaching into an in-road h2o valve container to wide sediment and debris," per KPTV.

Oregon OSHA cited ICON Construction and Development for failing to support workers from being injured oregon killed by moving dense instrumentality portion connected the occupation site. The study cited "serious" information violations for causing oregon contributing to a workplace fatality, saying safeguards specified arsenic spotters, barricades, oregon postulation cones should person been employed astatine the site. Oregon OSHA fined ICON Construction and Development $31,632.

Gray's household has filed a wrongful decease suit against Serres Farms Development, LLC and TR Oregon Holdings, Inc., 2 companies that oversaw the operation task that Lucas Gray was moving connected the time helium died. The suit cited the OSHA investigation, which included a substance connection from the aforesaid instrumentality loader relation who was progressive successful the incidental that caused Lucas Gray's death.

In the substance message, the relation warned of "tensions" astatine Serres Farms Development, LLC, penning that "Literally nary 1 and I mean not 1 idiosyncratic is connected the aforesaid page." He added, "It has everyone trying to bash what they deliberation is champion with small to nary direction, each going successful antithetic directions and causing a batch of unnecessary vexation amongst people, and causing what I judge to beryllium an unorganized and unproductive site…" The substance was sent 10 days earlier Lucas Gray's death.

According to the lawsuit, Oregon OSHA recovered that the operation site's superintendent was not connected tract that day, but this was reportedly not uncommon. An worker reportedly said the superintendent was "known for leaving the tract aggregate times a day."

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The suit described the enactment tract wherever Lucas Gray died arsenic chaotic. Joe Piucci, an lawyer representing the Gray family, told KPTV, "This is operation level 101 violations," adding, "You can't nonstop a kid retired into a thoroughfare to prevarication down successful the thoroughfare with nary spotters, nary flaggers, nary signs, nary warning."

Gray's household is suing for $35 cardinal successful damages and asking for a assemblage trial.

When asked for a remark by KPTV, ICON wide manager Darren Gusdorf said they could not remark owed to pending litigation. At the clip of the incident, ICON provided a connection that read: "On July 23, 2025, a tragic mishap astatine a operation tract resulted successful the decease of 1 of our valued employees. We are profoundly grieved by his death, and our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers spell retired to his household and loved ones during this time. The information and well-being of each our unit is our highest precedence and we are afloat cooperating with the authorities and OSHA's investigation."