Lawsuit Seeks $35M After Teen Worker Crushed to Death by Wheel Loader
Lucas Gray was finishing his last days of a summer construction job and was weeks away from entering college when he was run over...
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The estate of an 18-year-old recent high school graduate working a summer job in construction has filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking up to $35 million after he was run over and crushed by a wheel loader.
Lucas Colby Gray of West Linn, Oregon, was finishing his last days of a summer construction job when the incident occurred July 23, 2025. He had been working as a laborer for about a month and was just weeks away from entering the University of Utah as a freshman.
At about 9:30 a.m., Lucas was assigned by a supervisor to clean out water valve boxes about 2.5 feet under the road in the undeveloped Serres Farms subdivision in Clackamas County, according to the lawsuit filed April 24, 2026.
To perform the work he was lying face-down on the paved street in the middle of an intersection to remove rocks and debris from the valve openings. Another worker assigned to the same task had left to get a tool. The superintendent had left the site to get some ice due to high heat, according to the Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Administration investigation report.
Meanwhile, another employee was operating a 30,500-pound John Deere 544L wheel loader with a forklift attachment for loading pipes onto a trailer. He was traveling uphill toward Lucas to the laydown yard to swap the forks for a bucket and was unaware Lucas was working on the ground, according to the Oregon OSHA report. Lucas was facing in the opposite direction.
“The wheel loader drove directly over decedent’s body as he lay face down in the street,” according to the lawsuit.
The loader operator had driven 5 to 8 feet past Lucas’ body. “He immediately became hysterical while attempting to flag other workers to his location,” according to the OSHA report. The operator moved Lucas’ body to position him for resuscitation, but he was told not to touch Gray and to wait for EMS, according to the report.
Lucas was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. “Decedent suffered fatal blunt force head trauma,” the lawsuit says.
Contractor Cited
The worksite where Lucas Gray was crushed to death by a wheel loader.
“At the time, no cones, barricades or other traffic control measure were in place to restrict vehicle access, and no spotter was assigned to monitor for approaching vehicles or heavy equipment,” the OSHA report said.
In an interview with OSHA, the loader operator said the supervisor “was known to leave the site multiple times a day.”
Eight days prior, the loader operator sent a text to the development manager warning of a lack of communication and leadership on the jobsite and rising tensions. “Literally no one and I mean not one single person is on the same page,” the text said, according to the OSHA report. “… there’s no accountability … which is toxic and spreads to everyone at all levels.”
The development manager’s reply to the operator: “And I do appreciate your feedback and concern, we will speak about it soon.”
During questioning by OSHA, the site superintendent stated he did not provide any instructions to Lucas or the other laborer “about keeping clear of construction-related traffic,” the report says.
According to the lawsuit, the “site superintendent later acknowledged that a worker was supposed to have been acting as a spotter.”
The suit also said there was no communication system between the ground-level workers and equipment operators. It added that, along with the wheel loader, a padfoot roller and a dozer “were operating simultaneously on the site without any coordinated traffic management or work zone controls.”
Oregon OSHA cited Icon with a serious violation for failing to protect pedestrian workers from struck-by or caught-between hazards and for not properly instructing and supervising employees.
The citation said any of these safety practices could have been employed:
- Traffic control measures such as cones, barricades, escort vehicle or signage;
- Providing a dedicated spotter while workers were on the ground;
- Designating pedestrian-free zones;
- Establishing clear communication between operators and ground workers;
- Scheduling ground work during non-traffic periods.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed
On April 24, Lucas’ estate, administered by his mother and father, Catherine and Kelly Gray, sued Serres Farms Development LLC and RT Oregon Holdings Inc. of Portland. The suit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court by attorney Joe Piucci of Portland.
According to the suit, Icon was the general contractor for the project and subject to worker’s compensation laws. Icon is not a party to the suit, but Serres Farms Development was in charge of the work, as was TR Oregon Holdings, which is an owner of Serres, the complaint alleges.
“At the time of decedent’s injury and death, each defendant was negligent in failing to use every device, care and precaution which was practicable to use for the protection and safety of employees,” the suit alleges.
It also says they violated state OSHA laws, including failing to provide a spotter and ensuring operators had an unobstructed view of the path of travel; exposing workers to struck-by and caught-between hazards; failure to properly train workers and provide frequent and regular safety inspections.
The suit seeks the following:
- An amount not to exceed $10 million for negligence and/or fault by the defendants.
- An amount not to exceed $15 million for the beneficiaries of the estate suffering the loss of society and companionship of decedent.
- About $10 million for the loss of services and financial support to the estate and its beneficiaries, lost wages, the loss of future earning capacity and for funeral expenses.
Meanwhile, Icon has appealed Oregon OSHA’s violations through attorney Joshua P. Dennis.
“The basis of Icon’s appeal is that Oregon OSHA has not met its burden of proving elements necessary to issue a citation for the alleged violations being appealed,” reads a January 5 letter to OSHA from Dennis requesting an appeal. “Icon requests that the Citation be dismissed in its entirety.”
According to Oregon OSHA, the appeal remains underway.
