An arborist was killed Tuesday afternoon by a fallen tree at the Maple Ridge Golf Course, according to reports.
Maple Ridge emergency crews were called to the golf course, located on Golf Lane off 207th Street, around 5:30 p.m., for a report of a fallen tree.
They arrived to find an arborist, working near the ninth tee box of the golf course, had been crushed by a fallen tree.
The incident took place at the end of the first fairway, said Maple Ridge fire chief Howard Exner. “He was working on the tree and somehow, it basically fell on him.”
The worker from Maple Ridge was beyond medical help and pronounced dead at the scene.
The golf course was closed and RCMP taped off the area. WorkSafeBC has been notified of the incident and will be on scene today.
WorkSafe spokesperson Trish Knight Chernecki said a WorkSafeBC prevention team will ensure that the “immediate safety issues for investigators are taken care of.”
Investigators then will try to identify what happened and how to prevent such an incident in the future. An inspection report could be released next week. However, reports are only released if it’s believed their release won’t compromise the investigation.
A separate investigation report could take months.
The employer must also do its own investigation, she added.
In March 2016, Jody Taylor, an arborist with the City of Vancouver who lived in Maple Ridge, was killed by a fallen branch while pruning heavy branches by Kitsilano’s Connaught Park.
