Worker crushed at Saint John metal scrapyard delivering one of his final loads, inquest hears

A truck driver who was killed at a metal recycling plant in Saint John nearly two years ago was delivering one of his final loads when he was crushed, a coroner's inquest heard Tuesday.

Bruce Legace, an employee of Deschênes Drilling, died at American Iron and Metal (AIM) on the city's west side on Nov. 24, 2021.

The inquest into his death got underway at Saint John Law Courts Tuesday morning with jury selection.

The three women and two men, along with presiding coroner Michael Johnston, will hear evidence from witnesses, to determine the facts surrounding his death.

The court heard from nine witnesses, including Justin Richards, the AIM crane operator who unloaded Legace's trailer around 9 a.m. on the day in question.

Richards, who had been working for AIM for about eight months at that point, said he used the grapple to scoop the scrap metal out and dump it onto the ground to be screened by an inspector for hazardous materials, such as propane tanks.

Once the trailer was almost empty, he scooped up a large ball of chain-link fencing used to sweep out any leftover pieces or debris. The ball of metal fencing is estimated to weigh several hundred pounds, the court heard.

Richards, who was initially hired as a loader operator, said he swept the trailer "10 or more times," then asked an inspector to confirm the trailer was empty. The trailers are more than 10-feet deep, so operators have a very limited view of the inside from their cab, he explained.

The inspector Greg Godin "told me I had to work on the inside wall," said Richards, who completed a heavy equipment operator's course and previously worked in construction for about 10 years.

"I proceeded to raise my cab and turned towards the trailer. And that's when I seen the person," he said, fighting back tears, referring to Legace lying on the ground, behind the trailer.

A WorkSafeNB investigation found there was "no clear procedure" on where drivers should be during offloading, said Michael Cyr, manager of investigations. Some stayed with the inspector, but there wasn't always an inspector, he said. Some stayed in their cab, but their trucks move around quite a bit while being offloaded, and they feared injury. Others stood outside. "There wasn't a consistent practice."

The investigation determined Legace had entered the trailer to shovel it out while it was still being unloaded, said Cyr. Drivers were supposed to sweep their trucks at another location, away from the heavy equipment, he said.

Just five days earlier, Legace had signed new site safety rules put in place by AIM, which included wearing a high-visibility vest, hard hat and boots, and never walking or standing under equipment, such as an articulating boom, loader or forklift.

The paperwork was found in his truck; he hadn't returned it yet, but he had been to AIM more than 100 times since 2017, Cyr said.