The Gene Hobbs Tragedy: Sworn statement from the witness

As the last chapter of the story explored, the notes from KY OSH investigator Anthony Morley initial interviews with Meade County Road Department employees revealed that the supervisor stated he was up the road eating lunch, the truck driver remembered nothing, and the other employees there that day saw nothing either. When Morley released his “gospel,” the final report that would become the official story of what happened that day, two months after Gene Hobbs’ death, the story had changed to everyone had just came back from lunch, the truck had been signaled to back up, the back up alarm was working, Gene walked behind a moving truck, and by doing so, lost his life as a result. Morley also added that there was an eyewitness who added nothing to the story not already known to the investigator.
Lisa Hobbs says that isn’t true. State Trooper Brooks spoke to the eyewitness that day, Lisa’s son spoke to the witness in the weeks following Gene’s death, Ron Hayes with the F.I.G.H.T. Project would speak to the witness, and a Federal OSHA investigator would eventually come to Meade County and obtain a sworn statement after the family filed a Complaint About State Program Administration (CASPA) due to the way the case was handled. Hayes points out that unlike the county’s story, the witness’s version of what happened that day has never waivered in the least bit, regardless of who he told the story to. Out of all the documents and reports that have been generated from the multiple agencies involved in the tragedy that day along with reviews and complaints that followed, he is the only man who says he saw what happened that day. What follows is the sworn, written statement the eyewitness provided William Cochran, a federal OSHA director.

Read the full story at MeadeCountyKY.com