July 9, 2012

Alberta man injured while demoing heavy equipment unloading procedure

A 39-year old man is in serious condition in hospital after being injured while demonstrating how to unload a piece of heavy machinery from a trailer in central Alberta.

"A manager was showing a labourer how to back a piece of packing machinery off a trailer, when the trailer’s tires tipped," said Lisa Glover, spokesperson for Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). "This caused the packer to flip over pinning the manager between the packer and the ground."

The incident happened on July 9 at 7:30 a.m. and the injured man is a manager with Bettenson’s Sand and Gravel in Red Deer.

“The injured man was transported by EMS to Red Deer hospital and was then sent by helicopter to Calgary Foothills hospital,” said Glover. “As of last night (July 9), he was in serious, but stable condition in a medically induced coma.”

Glover said OH&S is investigating the incident. They also put a stop use order on the truck and the trailer. Bettenson's Sand and Gravel, which is a family owned and operated earth moving company, was contacted by the Journal of Commerce but declined to comment.

JOC DIGITAL MEDIA

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