He helped save lives, whether on or off the job
Richard moved to Baytown to live closer to his daughter and grandchildren.
“It was a Friday evening, less than 30 minutes before quitting time on a project at this plastics chemical plant between Bishop and Kingsville, Texas. When I went to check on things, I found four insulators working in the pipe rack 75 feet up, and not one of them was tied off or wearing their safety harnesses. I called them down and chewed them out. Then their general foreman walked up to me, and I chewed him out, too. I told them, safety is not an option out here. Not on my watch.
“Later on that evening, it was pouring down rain when I started driving home to Bishop. There was a car maybe 150 yards ahead of me, and I saw the brake lights come on. All of a sudden, I saw an object fly up in the air one way and something big go the other way. I pulled over and got out of my car to check on it, and I saw it was that same general foreman. He was hitchhiking down this dark road. When he got hit, his boots went one way and he went the other. He ended up face down in a chuckhole full of water.
“Honestly, I didn’t think he would make it. I wouldn’t have bet a penny that he was going to survive.”
“It took me a while to get him cleaned out to where I could clear his throat and start CPR. I was able to bring him around. Then some guy pulled over and asked if I needed help. I said, ‘Yes sir. I need an ambulance quick.’ About five minutes later the ambulance showed up, and they worked on him a little bit more. He was all crippled up. Honestly, I didn’t think he would make it. I wouldn’t have bet a penny that he was going to survive.
“Well, it was close to two years later when I was siting in my office one day eating lunch. The security officer called and said, ‘There’s a gentleman here to see you.’ So he sends him in. And wouldn’t you know it, it was the general foreman from that job. He had come up there to thank me for saving his life. He didn’t remember much at all from what happened, so I guess someone told him. He had gone through all kinds of medical stuff and rehab. He had problems with his hips and legs, but he was working again for another company.
“I was with Brown and Root close to 50 years. I traveled all over the world doing OSHA-related work. I saved a lot of lives, either by helping someone directly or through safety people I trained or procedures I put in place. But that’s one of those stories that really sticks with you. That’s one I’ll never forget.”
— Richard, 68
