UPDATE: The beam was removed last night.
A concrete beam has fallen on the cab of a truck at Coquitlam Centre Mall.
An employee with Smithrite Disposal was making a routine garbage pick-up near the Bay department store at 8:30 a.m.. As he left the area, he did not lower the back section of the garbage truck, which then struck the concrete beam, causing it to fall.
Two FedEx workers were nearby when the beam collapsed, and helped put out a small fire in the truck’s cab. Fire officials say they likely helped save the driver’s life.
The driver managed to escape the cab through the back and dial 9-1-1.
Firefighters arrived on scene and had to cut the driver out of the truck. He was pulled out and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He has undergone x-rays in hospital and is in stable condition.
Smithrite is also on scene, but they have not yet spoken to the media.
There were no other people around at the time of the incident.
Officials say the driver was experienced, but it’s not clear why his truck compactor was raised as he tried to leave the loading area. The truck appears to have knocked the beam off its brick supports.
A giant crane was brought in to lift the beam off of the truck this afternoon.
Fortis Gas is also on scene to take a look at gas lines in the area. Gas has been cut off to Montana’s Cookhouse and a spa as a precaution.
Mall officials says the west-side entrance is going to stay closed, potentially all weekend long, but the rest of the mall is open for business.
Tim Hortons may also be affected, customers are advised to check Coquitlam Centre’s Facebook page for the latest updates.
WorkSafeBC is investigating.
This is the not first time a garbage truck has accidentally struck a concrete structure in the Lower Mainland.
In 2005, a young father died when the Waste Management garbage truck he was driving struck a pedestrian overpass in Coquitlam. Witnesses reported that the arms of the truck were extending as the truck drove down the highway.
The overpass had to be rebuilt.
A subsequent WorkSafeBC investigation found no evidence of mechanical problems, but suggested the driver may have hit the wrong switch, raising the bucket instead of opening the garbage box’s top door — something a driver would normally do before arriving at a new pick-up. The two identical switches were located next to each other in the older model Volvo truck he was driving. WorkSafeBC also said the driver had worked a series overtime shifts before the accident and was likely suffering from fatigue and “sleep debt.”
In 2009, a garbage truck with its forks up slammed into the Murray Street overpass in Port Moody, causing serious damage to the structure. The driver escaped with minor injuries.
Also that year, a dump truck with its box up struck the pedestrian overpass at Metrotown Mall. The driver was not injured and the overpass only suffered cosmetic damage.
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