Background: News footage of a wheel loader similar to the one that ran over Lucas Gray in July 2025 (KPTV). Inset: Lucas Gray (Instagram).
The family of an Oregon teenager who was killed while working at his construction job is suing the company, claiming his death could have been prevented.
Lucas Gray, 18, was working for ICON Construction and Development in July 2025, a summer job he took before he left to start college. One week before his last day, Gray was at a construction site in Oregon City, Oregon, and was lying on the ground clearing debris from a hole when he was run over by a 30,500-pound John Deere 544L wheel loader and crushed to death. When his mother rushed to the scene, she said he was already covered in a yellow tarp, a stream of blood staining the pavement around his body.
Catherine Gray told local Fox affiliate KPTV that when she arrived at the site on July 23, 2025, “I only saw his little boots and his hat off to the side and a flow of blood running down the street.” Lucas Gray was pronounced deceased at the scene. Oregon OSHA investigated the incident and in their report, they wrote that Gray was “reaching into an in-road water valve box to clear sediment and debris,” per KPTV.
Oregon OSHA cited ICON Construction and Development for failing to protect workers from being injured or killed by moving heavy equipment while on the job site. The report cited “serious” safety violations for causing or contributing to a workplace fatality, saying safeguards such as spotters, barricades, or traffic cones should have been employed at the site. Oregon OSHA fined ICON Construction and Development $31,632.
Gray’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Serres Farms Development, LLC and TR Oregon Holdings, Inc., two companies that oversaw the construction project that Lucas Gray was working on the day he died. The lawsuit cited the OSHA investigation, which included a text message from the same wheel loader operator who was involved in the incident that caused Lucas Gray’s death.
In the text message, the operator warned of “tensions” at Serres Farms Development, LLC, writing that “Literally no one and I mean not one person is on the same page.” He added, “It has everyone trying to do what they think is best with little to no direction, all going in different directions and causing a lot of unnecessary frustration amongst people, and causing what I believe to be an unorganized and unproductive site…” The text was sent 10 days before Lucas Gray’s death.
According to the lawsuit, Oregon OSHA found that the construction site’s superintendent was not on site that day, but this was reportedly not uncommon. An employee reportedly said the superintendent was “known for leaving the site multiple times a day.”
The lawsuit described the work site where Lucas Gray died as chaotic. Joe Piucci, an attorney representing the Gray family, told KPTV, “This is construction level 101 violations,” adding, “You can’t send a kid out into a street to lie down in the street with no spotters, no flaggers, no signs, no warning.”
Gray’s family is suing for $35 million in damages and asking for a jury trial.
When asked for a comment by KPTV, ICON general manager Darren Gusdorf said they could not comment due to pending litigation. At the time of the incident, ICON provided a statement that read: “On July 23, 2025, a tragic accident at a construction site resulted in the death of one of our valued employees. We are deeply grieved by his death, and our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones during this time. The safety and well-being of all our personnel is our highest priority and we are fully cooperating with the authorities and OSHA’s investigation.”
