Antonio Harper of Princeton, Louisiana, died on October 5, 2026, after a front-end loader ran over him at an industrial worksite in the 2700 block of East 70th Street in Shreveport. The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office identified Harper. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to KSLA’s October 6 report.
At the time of that report, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office was investigating. The account does not establish the loader’s direction of travel, Harper’s position just before contact, or what the operator could see.
What could show how the loader and Harper came into contact?
A site plan can show designated equipment routes and pedestrian crossings. It cannot show where a worker or machine actually was. Time-stamped video, dispatch calls and witness accounts could help reconstruct their positions. If the loader recorded movement data, its clock would need to be checked against the camera and radio timestamps.
Visibility depends on the machine’s configuration at the moment of contact. Photographs taken from the operator’s seated position, with the attachment at the relevant height, could help establish the sightline. Lighting, mirrors, camera coverage and any obstructions belong in that reconstruction. Traffic instructions and shift assignments could show how workers were expected to move through the area. The initial report does not say a warning device failed or anyone disregarded a rule.
Who was the employer, and who controlled the work?
Under Louisiana R.S. 23:1032, workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered employer for an accidental workplace death. Eligible dependents may receive death benefits without proving employer negligence. The fact that the incident occurred on a company’s premises does not, by itself, establish that the company employed Harper.
When several companies share a site, the contracts matter. Under R.S. 23:1061, a principal may be a statutory employer when it agrees to perform work for someone else and contracts out all or part of that work. Outside that two-contract situation, a written agreement recognizing statutory-employer status is required. It creates a presumption that can be rebutted by showing the work was neither integral nor essential to the principal’s business. A qualifying principal assumes compensation obligations and generally receives the corresponding protection from suit.
A claim against a separate, legally responsible third party may coexist with compensation under R.S. 23:1101. Payroll records, work orders and contracts could identify who employed Harper and the loader operator and who directed site traffic. The coroner’s account does not establish those relationships or assign civil fault. For more on the benefits process, see our Shreveport workers’ compensation guide.