City employee struck, killed by fuel storage truck at Austin airport, officials say

A commercial airplane takes off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Tuesday evening Dec. 27, 2022.
Ricardo B. Brazziell / American-Statesman

Austin American-Statesman
Chase Rogers, Austin American-Statesman
October 31, 2023

An employee with the city of Austin's Aviation Department was fatally struck Tuesday morning by a fuel storage vehicle at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, an airport spokesperson said.

Many details about the circumstances of the fatal crash, which occurred near the western end of Barbara Jordan Terminal, are unclear. The Austin Police Department responded to the crash. A spokesperson for the department did not answer questions about the scope of the ongoing investigation.

"This is an active investigation, and no further details are currently available," Brandon Jones, the Police Department's communications manager, wrote in a statement to the American-Statesman.

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services officials and Austin police were dispatched to the airport at 9:26 a.m. after receiving reports of "a person struck with a vehicle," said Capt. Christa Stedman, an Austin-Travis County EMS spokesperson. The first EMS officials arrived on the scene at 9:34 a.m., she said.

Elizabeth Ferrer, an airport spokesperson, said the incident happened on the tarmac — called the apron by airport officials — where aircraft park.

Austin police and Austin-Travis County EMS officials were working at the scene as of noon.

Airport operations and flights have not been affected, she added.

Austin-Travis County EMS officials pronounced the employee dead at 10:20 a.m. after efforts to resuscitate the person were unsuccessful, Stedman said.

Sam Haynes, an airport spokesperson, wrote in a statement, "Our thoughts are with the deceased’s loved ones, friends, families and colleagues and we ask our community to keep them in their thoughts."

As of July, the city employed nearly 460 workers in a variety of roles at the airport, including roles that work on the apron and airport runways, according to records obtained by the Statesman under the Texas Public Information Act.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the Tuesday incident, said Juan J. Rodriguez, a Department of Labor spokesperson. He declined to provide further information, including the name or names of the subjects of the ongoing federal investigation, because the investigation was in its early stages.

Tuesday's crash marks the second time this year an employee was killed while working at the airport.

In April, an American Airlines employee was killed while driving a ground service vehicle that crashed into a jet bridge. Austin police were told the vehicle had “several mechanical issues.” A Travis County medical examiner and Austin police ruled the death an accident. Online records show OSHA is still investigating American Airlines and Menzies Aviation, the company that airport officials told police was responsible for the vehicle's upkeep.

The father of the American Airlines employee has sued his son's employer in Travis County court, claiming the Fort Worth-based airline was negligent.

Editor's note: This story was updated to state the correct month when an American Airlines employee was killed while driving a ground service vehicle at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport earlier this year.