Fall through surface or existing opening less than 6 feet · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Woody's Car Wash, 1201 Cedar Street, HELENA, MONTANA 59601
on — Amputations, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee was drying vehicles as they came out of the car wash. His foot slipped into a hole at the end of the track where the roller goes back down. The roller amputated his right leg under the kneecap.
A temporary employee walked across a wooden pallet to retrieve product to stock. When he walked back across the pallet, it broke, causing the employee to fall to the ground and sustain a fractured hip.
On April 10, 2023, at 12:00 PM, an employee was using a broom to clear rock from a building's foundation in preparation for a spray-on vapor barrier. There was a 4-foot deep trench next to the building where the employee was working and the soil at the trench's edge fell away. The employee fell into the trench and was hospitalized for a left pelvis and/or femur fracture.
An employee was walking up a steel staircase to check wiring in the electrical room. The staircase had a top platform with a grate that was sitting across the beams of the platform. The grate had shifted and as the employee stepped on it, it gave way, causing him to fall approximately 3 feet to the ground below. The grate landed on the employee and he was hospitalized for four transverse process fractures in the lower spine.
An employee was stocking the freezer and stepped on a wood pallet. The employee's foot went into the pallet and they sustained a right ankle fracture that required hospitalization and surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 811192)
An employee was changing the location of bolts that held a metal plate on the top of a car wash conveyor. His thumb became stuck between a part of the equipment and a roller on the conveyor. He sustained a fracture to the right thumb just above the base knuckle, resulting in an amputation.
An employee was walking on a carwash roller track when their right foot was caught inside the roller track equipment. The employee sustained torn ligaments and tendons, a partial degloving, and an arterial bleed in the foot.
On July 17, 2025, after someone reported a burning smell at the car wash exit near the washing machine, an employee was inspecting the area. When the employee touched the washing machine, he was electrocuted and hospitalized.
An employee came in early to use the air compressor to add air to one of his car's tires. While he was walking across the parking lot, the injured employee noticed a man sitting in the parking lot. The unidentified man rushed the injured employee and stabbed him three times in the back with a knife.
An employee was washing the tunnel equipment area using a sprayer and a chemical containing 5-10% hydrofluoric acid. The chemical seeped into his clothing and caused chemical burns to his abdomen and upper thighs. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was fixing an issue with seed cleaning equipment when he slipped on the ladder he was on. He went to catch himself and his hand went into a moving belt and pulley on the cleaner. The employee sustained the amputation of his right middle and index fingertips just below the fingernails.
An employee was riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to move a bison herd. He was riding up the side of a steep hill when the ATV struck a rock and rolled, ejecting the employee before rolling over him. The employee suffered broken vertebrae in his back that required hospitalization.
An employee was climbing in the spreader area to remove a pasta jam when his right little finger was cut by the rotary cut-off knife. The employee sustained a laceration and fracture, resulting in an amputation.
A smoke jumper parachuted out of a helicopter during a forest fire response, landed on steep rugged terrain, and suffered femur and rib fractures and a liver laceration. The employee was hospitalized.