Dump Truck Driver Dies in Freak Accident With Hot Asphalt

A Mississippi man died in a horrific, freak accident this week after being buried alive in hot asphalt while attempting to fix his dump truck.

The incident occurred on, Nov. 4 at AJ Materials in Jackson, MI when contractor Darrell Sheriff, 41, was working on the truck's hydraulic line. Suddenly, the tailgate opened and asphalt spilled out over him, the Associated Press reports. In a press conference on Monday afternoon, Jackson police chief Joseph Wade shared the details of what had happened.

"Upon arrival, [officers] located an individual who had been buried under a hot asphalt," Wade explained. "It appeared to be some type of malfunction with his dump truck, the vehicle that he was there to pick up asphalt with. As he tried to fix the vehicle and mitigate the issue, the vehicle actually unloaded hot asphalt onto him."

"My prayers, condolences, thoughts, my heart goes out to his family," he continued, noting that he had spoken to someone family members who described Sheriff as a good, hard-working man. "Such a horrific, horrific situation that happened and transpired here this morning ... the family members on scene were hurt, they were traumatized, and rightfully so."

Wade noted that the police department was conducting a full investigation, but that the incident appeared to be an accidental death.

"There was some individuals on scene who tried to help him," Wade added. "They said he tried to fight to make it through those injuries, but they were just too enormous for him to survive."