Death of teen caught in conveyor belt ‘heart wrenching’: Tolko head
by The Canadian Press
Bradley Haslam, 18, member of overnight cleanup crew
VERNON, B.C.—The head of Tolko Industries says the company is extremely saddened by the death of an 18-year-old employee who became entangled in a conveyor belt at a planer mill in Lavington, B.C.
Brad Thorlakson says knowing that a family has been forever changed by the tragedy is devastating, and no words can express the pain of the heart-wrenching loss.
He says a shift supervisor who found Bradley Haslam freed him from the equipment and, along with two other workers, administered first aid until an ambulance arrived early June 15.
Haslam, who was part of the overnight cleanup crew, was transported to a hospital in nearby Vernon, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Thorlakson says the incident serves as a reminder about the importance of safety in the workplace and a call to all employees to look out for each other.
WorkSafeBC says it may be several months before its investigators learn how the industrial accident happened.
