# We lost one of our own Saturday night.....



## Jumper (Apr 28, 2008)

Not tree biz related, but a fatal accident between a CAT 797B Haul Truck and a pickup. Dead is Chris Van Moorsel, 26 years old, from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, an electrician with Bucyrus Canada who had been at the Albian site since 2006. He was 26 years old with two children that now will grow up without their Dad. 

Driving in the mine here really is a task you can not be complacent about for even a second. Ditto for much of the machinery used and driven in the tree care industry. 

Be careful on the roads out there folks!

Man dies in crash with giant truck
Oilsands hauler collides with pickup at Fort McMurray mine site
Elise Stolte and Steve Lillebuen, The Edmonton Journal; With files from Jennifer Fong
Published: 9:11 am
An oilsands contractor driving a pickup has died after colliding this weekend with a 400-tonne oilsands dump truck on a mine site that prides itself on its clean worker-safety record.

RCMP and officials with the Albian Sands mine north of Fort McMurray have released few details about the Saturday-night collision, but those familiar with massive oilsands haulers say workers take many precautions to ensure such run-ins never happen.

"To run over something like (a pickup truck) would just flatten it like a pancake. You wouldn't even know you hit it," said Doug Krupa, who works for Heavy Hauler Service and Repair in Edmonton.

The dump truck involved in the accident was a Caterpillar 797B, the largest mining truck in the world. It stands more than three storeys high and is so large that it can't be driven on highways, but must be transported in pieces and reassembled at the mine site.

The driver behind the wheel sits about 6.5 metres above the ground.

Ordinary-sized vehicles are normally not allowed near giant trucks, Krupa said.

The collision happened shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday at the Albian Sands Energy Muskeg River Mine site, about 75 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, said RCMP Const. Ali Fayad. Albian emergency crews responded, then called RCMP at 9:30 p.m.

The pickup driver died shortly after he arrived at a nearby hospital. RCMP and Workplace Health and Safety officers are investigating and a stop-work order has been written.

Shell Canada spokeswoman Simone Marler said the crash happened on the mine site, not in the mine. The mine is a joint venture between Shell Canada, Chevron and Marathon Oil.

The victim's name and age were withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Marler said this was the first fatality in the six-year history of the oilsands project. Until the accident, the roughly 1,000 employees at the site went through three million hours of work without a lost-time incident.

"Our commitment is to fully understand the cause and circumstance surrounding the accident ... to ensure that it never happens again," she said Sunday. "We're deeply saddened by this and our thoughts are with the contractor and (his) family."

John Payne, an instructor in the Mine Operations program at Fort McMurray's Keyano College, has driven the Caterpillar 797 and said operators have to be on guard all the time.

"Your visibility is limited. You have clear vision straight ahead through the windshield and then there's a blind spot on either side," Payne said, because side mirrors can only do so much.

The truck's height means "it's quite a ways in front before you can see a hard hat standing in front of you. They're extremely dangerous if you're on the ground near it, even for light-duty pick-ups."

Payne said he has heard of incidents similar to what happened Saturday night, but said that the 797 is "probably one of the safest machines on the road."

Today is the international day of mourning to recognize workers killed and injured on the job.

A ceremony is planned for 7 p.m. tonight at Edmonton City Hall, where victims' families will be speaking out, said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan




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## trimmmed (Apr 28, 2008)

Damn, 26 is young. Will keep the family in our thoughts and prayers.


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## deeker (Apr 28, 2008)

A sad story. Prayers for his family.


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## bigbadbob (Apr 28, 2008)

Thats sad, I feel for the family.
My bro just started there!!!


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## ropensaddle (Apr 28, 2008)

Terrible thoughts and prayers for all involved.


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## (WLL) (Apr 29, 2008)

Jumper said:


> He was 26 years old with two children that now will grow up without their Dad.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


   thats just so darn sad   i have 2 childern also,and grew up with other family because of my dead parents. i hate to hear stuff like this. god bless those poor kids, and the rest of the family


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