EDITOR’S NOTE: On Thursday, OHS told Global News the worker who was killed was in his 20s. A member of the family later told Global News he was 33. The article has since been updated to reflect the new information.
A 33-year-old man died after reportedly falling about eight metres off a balcony in Old Strathcona, Edmonton police said Wednesday night.
According to police and Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), the worker fell off a third floor balcony at a construction site in the area of 84 Avenue and 101 Street shortly before 9:30 a.m.
Police said a co-worker found the man, who was then rushed to the University of Alberta Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
OHS said while the scene has been released back to the company, a stop-work order is in effect while the investigation is underway.
OHS said the the primary contractor is CJ DeCoste Custom Builders Inc. The president’s LinkedIn site says the company is “a multi-unit builder of condo, hotel & apartment style projects for various developers in the greater Edmonton area.”
Watch below: Workplace safety is once again under the microscope after a worker died in a fall in Edmonton on Wednesday. At the same time, an employer was being sentenced to jail time for his role in a 2015 workplace death. Fletcher Kent reports.
On Thursday, the worker’s family identified him as Ian Gallagher. They said he leaves behind a common-law wife whom he was with for 15 years. The family said the couple was originally from Chatham, Ont. but moved to Edmonton in 2007.
“I am in utter shock and disbelief that I am forced to bury my husband who I have been with for over 15 years at such a young age, from such a tragic accident that never should have happened,” Hrabek said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
Friends have since started a Go Fund Me page to assist Gallagher’s family.
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