Kyle McIntyre was working at a construction site in Chinatown on Saturday when a 4,000-pound load of reinforced concrete and heavy-duty plywood molds for forming concrete fell on him from a height of about 10 or 12 feet.
“I had a moment of clarity on the ground very quickly and then that was it,” said the 50-year-old construction rigger. “And the next thing I was — I believe — in the hospital.”
A witness from across the street said they heard a loud bang from the site at the intersection of Herald and Government streets before emergency crews arrived, including police, firefighters and paramedics.
McIntyre suffered multiple serious injuries, including a dislocated knee and three open-skin fractures on his left leg, as well as a minor contusion to the back of his head. “All the tendons were sheared,” he said.
McIntyre said doctors were able to save his leg despite the condition that he had arrived in.
“The way my leg was contorted, I should’ve probably lost my leg. The artery should have been pinched and I would’ve lost all blood flow to it … somehow they managed,” he said.
He said he’s expecting a long road to recovery as it will likely be weeks until he can start rehabilitation on his knee following additional surgery. In the meantime, he’ll have to rely on income from WorkSafeBC or employment insurance to support his wife and four children, who are aged nine to 23, McIntyre said.
McIntyre’s wife, Nancy, said she had urged her husband not to go into Victoria for work on Saturday, but McIntyre had wanted to make some extra money.
“It’s always a concern, especially with the economy the way it is,” he said.
A fundraiser for the McIntyre family has been organized by a family friend and can be found at gofundme.com/f/help-the-mcintyres.
Farmer Construction Ltd. president Gerrit Vink said his company takes the safety of their workers very seriously.
“This was an oversight by one of our sub-trades and they’re working through it right now,” he said.
McIntrye was working for the Victoria-based Banyan Construction when he was injured.
He said another worker who was injured on the site is with the Surrey-based LMS Reinforcing Steel Group and was able to walk out of the emergency room.
McIntrye said the incident was not caused by human error. “We did everything by the books,” he said. “The crane operator is exceptional.”
He suspects that a sudden failure in the crane’s rigging — specifically with the bridle pins — caused the crane to suddenly drop its load.
WorkSafeBC confirmed that it’s investigating but did not provide details.
City spokesperson Colleen Mycroft said the fire department would be unable to comment due to the active WorkSafeBC investigation.
Plans for the 1.5-acre site at 610-624 Herald St. and 611-635 Chatham St. call for 278 units of rental housing on top of several ground-floor commercial units, with about 200 underground parking stalls.
The site is being developed by Vancouver-based Denciti Development Corp. in partnership with Nicola Wealth Real Estate, a wealth and asset management firm.
