Construction worker killed by runaway trailer at Neweg Energy Project, New Brunswick
2024Published 7 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Neweg Energy Project, Springdale area, New Brunswick, Canada
- What
- Pilot truck driver fatally crushed by runaway transport dolly
- Injuries
- One worker killed
- Cause
- No single cause attributed
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Windturbine Construction Team
What happened
A pilot truck driver was fatally crushed at the Neweg Energy Project wind farm construction site in the Springdale area, east of Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada, after a six-axle transport dolly, with a gross weight of more than 27,000 kilograms, became detached from an off-road forklift while a wind turbine tower was being unloaded. The worker was run over while attempting to stop the runaway dolly. A coroner's inquest jury later ruled the death an accident and issued a series of safety recommendations directed mainly at Windturbine Construction Team, the company responsible for installing the turbines.
The inquest did not assign blame or legal responsibility. Separately, Windturbine Construction Team was charged under occupational health and safety legislation with failing to ensure an industrial lift truck was not loaded beyond its capacity and failing to ensure it was used only for its designed purpose; it pleaded guilty to the first charge and the second was withdrawn.
Contributing factors
The inquest jury's recommendations focused on on-site supervision and chain of command, morning safety meetings, clarity of scope of work and responsibilities, review of the equipment used against its intended purpose, competence and training of equipment operators, and the right to refuse unsafe work. A guilty plea was entered to a charge of failing to ensure an industrial lift truck was not loaded beyond its capacity. No single cause was formally attributed by the inquest.
Lessons learned
- Check that an off-road forklift is never loaded beyond rated capacity when handling wind turbine tower sections.
- Define on-site supervision and chain of command before any heavy transport or unloading starts at a wind farm site.
- Confirm operator training and equipment suitability each day before moving loads over 27,000 kg.
More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Turbine tower transport equipment model and age
- Duration of construction delay
- Cost of the incident
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
