Comcast not at fault in icy pileup, Indy police say

Comcast workers appear to be obeying OSHA guidelines and drivers were simply going too fast, according to an Indianapolis Police Department review of the latest viral video incident to plague the cable company. 

Specifically, they Indy police noted one incident, in which a black pick-up truck rear-ended a sedan. 

“It appears that speed was a factor in the hit-and-run crash,” said the Indianapolis PD, in a statement to FierceCable. “The suspect truck was likely going too fast for the weather conditions.

Comcast workers, meanwhile, properly parked a work truck on the road as they addressed the repair of roadside box, the police added

“Per our traffic unit, the number of cones and cone placement are an acceptable standard and best practices via OSHA guidelines,” the statement said. “From what has been seen in the video the drivers of the Comcast truck did not break any laws. It should be noted that the weather conditions here on yesterday were slick and hazardous, and that several other vehicles navigated that area without a problem (as seen in the video).”

RELATED: Comcast investigating workers’ role in Indianapolis pileup on icy road

Comcast and the Occupational of Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) are currently investigating a series of accidents on an icy road in Indianapolis on Dec. 13, caught on smart-phone video by a private citizen and occurring as Comcast technicians worked on a box on the side of the road. 

The video shows a parked Comcast service vehicle blocking a lane, and cars and trucks emerging from a summit—many of them going too fast—unable to stop on the icy road as the Comcast truck and the blockage come into view. 

The videographer is seen pleading with the technicians to extend the cones around their truck to offer oncoming cars more warning of the blockage ahead. The workers appear indifferent, telling the videographer that their cones are laid out according to established guidelines. 

Perhaps aware that appearances matter more than being right, Comcast released a contrite statement last week:

“When I watched this video I was very concerned by what I saw,” said Ed Marchetti, senior VP of technical operations for Comcast Cable. “Our employees should always protect people and treat them with respect no matter what the situation. Safety matters most—especially in dangerous weather conditions like this.

“We are actively investigating what happened when our technicians were on site to restore services during an outage and we will reach out to those who were impacted by this incident," Marchetti added. “Within the next 24-48 hours, my team leaders will meet with our technicians across our company to use this as an example of how important it is to make everyone’s safety a priority in everything we do.”