MONTREAL – A pedestrian has been killed while walking next to a construction site in Montreal on Monday morning in what seems to be a random accident.
The 32-year-old man was walking on the east side of the street when he was seriously injured by a heavy metal plate being moved on the construction site.
He was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
Global News has confirmed that the victim was Saad Syed, a language teacher who worked at GEOS Language Academy, just a few blocks away from the accident.
“I lost my son,” said Salim Syed, the victim’s father.
He dropped off Saad on Monday morning, and not long after, he received the news that his son was dead.
“You leave your son alone, alive on the train and then two hours later, you see a dead body.”
The family confirmed that a funeral for Saad will take place on Tuesday.
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The accident
Police have confirmed that a chain holding the plate, which weighs up to 1 metric tonne and is used to cover large holes in pavement so vehicles can drive over top, was being manoeuvred by a large piece of heavy equipment and seems to have snapped.
Montreal police spokesperson Anie Lemieux confirmed that the accident took place at around 8:40 a.m. on de la Montagne Street, just north of Rene Levesque Boulevard.
“The circumstances are still yet to be determined,” said Lemieux. “This is a work accident.”
An investigation is ongoing and De la Montagne is closed between Rene Levesque and Ste. Catherine while investigators from the Montreal police and Quebec’s workplace health and safety board (CSST) are at the scene.
The tragedy occurred as thousands of Quebec’s construction workers began returning to their jobs following their traditional two-week summer vacation period.
According to a press release issued Monday by the government department, 42 per cent of all workplace accidents happen in Quebec between August and October.
Coincidentally, the health and safety board had issued a statement just a few hours before the death to remind some 160,000 construction workers to be vigilant on the job.
There were 7,537 accidents in Quebec’s construction sector in 2012, with 42 per cent of them taking place between the busy months of August and November.
– With files from Rachel Lau and The Canadian Press
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