The grieving family of an Oregon teenager, who tragically lost his life while on a construction job, has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that the fatal incident was avoidable.

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, speaking to Fox affiliate KPTV, recounted the harrowing scene she encountered on July 23, 2025. “All I saw were his little boots and a hat off to the side, with a trail of blood flowing down the street,” she recalled. Her son, Lucas Gray, was declared dead at the location. According to an investigation by Oregon OSHA, Lucas had been “reaching into an in-road water valve box to clear sediment and debris,” as reported by KPTV.

Following the investigation, Oregon OSHA held ICON Construction and Development accountable for neglecting to protect workers from the dangers of heavy equipment on-site. The report identified “serious” safety lapses that either caused or contributed to the fatality, emphasizing the absence of essential safety measures like spotters, barricades, or traffic cones. Consequently, the company faced a $31,632 fine from Oregon OSHA.

In response, Gray’s family has initiated a wrongful death lawsuit against Serres Farms Development, LLC, and TR Oregon Holdings, Inc., the two entities that managed the construction project on the day of the accident. The legal action draws on the OSHA findings, which included a revealing text message from the wheel loader operator involved in the tragic event.

The operator had texted about “tensions” at Serres Farms Development, LLC, expressing that “Literally no one and I mean not one person is on the same page.” He continued, “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 among people, and causing what I believe to be an unorganized and unproductive site…” This message was sent just ten days before Lucas Gray’s untimely death.

The lawsuit also highlights that the construction site’s superintendent was absent on the day of the incident, a situation reportedly not uncommon. An employee noted that the superintendent had a reputation for frequently leaving the site during work hours.

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.”