Coroner's inquest ordered into worker's death at Saint John scrapyard

A New Brunswick coroner and jury will be learning about what led to the death of a worker at American Iron and Metal in November 2021.

A coroner's inquest is scheduled for three days starting Oct. 10 in Saint John, the Department of Justice and Public Safety said.

Bruce Lagace died while working at the west Saint John metal recycling yard on Nov. 24, 2021. Unnamed until this week, he was the first of two workers to die at the AIM scrapyard in a seven-month period. 

The inquest, presided over by coroner Michael Johnston and a jury, will involve hearing evidence from witnesses to find out what went wrong, a department news release said. The jury will then make recommendations to prevent deaths under similar circumstances in the future.

A coroner's inquest is not a criminal procedure and does not involve a finding of guilt or responsibility. 

WorkSafeNB investigation alleges violations

WorkSafeNB investigated Lagace's death and recommended that the Crown lay charges against the company. The investigation found that Lagace died after he entered a trailer while it was still being unloaded and was swept away by a crane wielding a large ball of metal fencing used to clean out debris.

The workplace safety organization alleged AIM failed to ensure the health and safety of truck drivers and failed to have a safe procedure for drivers to enter trailers after they were unloaded.

The Crown's office did not accept the charges because it found there was no reasonable chance of conviction.

Five months later the Crown did lay four charges related to the death of the second worker, Darrell Richards. AIM pleaded not guilty to those charges. The trial for the Richards case is scheduled for March 2024.