Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jun 2006
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Gordon Hoekstra, Citizen staff
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

CORONER'S REPORT INTO FOREST CRASH FINALLY RELEASED

It has taken two and a half years for the B.C. coroners office to 
complete an inquiry into a logging crash on an icy road near Williams 
Lake, which killed Russell Lund. The length of time it has taken to 
complete the report is unacceptable, say forest industry 
representatives, as its conclusions could help raise awareness and 
direct preventive measures in a more timely manner -- in this case, 
issues like marijuana use, chaining up tires and wearing a seatbelt.

Northern B.C. regional coroner Shane DeMeyer said Thursday theres no 
excuse for the length of time the inquiry has taken.

DeMeyer became aware of the time the inquiry had taken following 
repeated requests by The Citizen for the coroner report into Lunds death.

On average, it has taken about a year to complete coroners inquiries 
into fatal log truck crashes in the Northern Interior. DeMeyer said 
the length of time the inquest had taken was partly related to staffing levels.

A decision has been made recently to hire a third coroner in Williams 
Lake, said DeMeyer. "We recognize there is a problem, and were going 
to make sure it doesnt happen again," he said. The coroners inquiry 
says Lund, 35, died of asphyxia as a result of being pinned in his 
logging truck which rolled over an embankment. Coroner Ann Smith 
concluded that contributing factors to Lunds death on Dec. 3, 2003, 
were extremely icy road conditions, not using chains on the tires of 
the logging truck, not using a seatbelt and the use of marijuana.

Smith made no recommendations in her report.

The road conditions at the time were extremely icy with black ice, 
and had not yet been sanded or de-iced. A search and rescue vehicle 
slid into the ditch en route to the scene, noted the coroners report.

The coroner said the RCMP reported there was the smell of marijuana 
in the cab, where a small amount of the drug was found.

The coroners report also said that Lunds employer indicated during a 
WorkSafe BC investigation that individual drivers made their own 
decisions about whether or not to put chains on their tires.

The coroners report noted that Lund had left his home in Williams 
Lake at about 1 a.m., after two hours of sleep.

The crash is estimated to have happened 15 minutes later.

Lund had reportedly worked about 11.5 hours the day before, 
delivering two loads in the same area. The coroners report indicated 
that he generally arrived home in the mid-afternoon, and did so the 
previous day as well. Lund had slept from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., played 
indoor soccer for two hours in the mid-evening, and visited a local 
pub from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. The coroners report said friends reported 
that he drank two to three beers at the pub.

He then went home and slept for two hours before leaving for the 
bush. The toxicology results included in the coroner report indicated 
that Lund had a 0.03 blood alcohol level and had a 
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level of 0.014 mg/L in his blood.

The THC level indicates recent use of marijuana. The coroners report 
did not indicate what type of impairment, if any, these levels would 
constitute. While the Canadian criminal code lists impairment levels 
for blood alcohol, at 0.08, no such levels exist for marijuana.

DeMeyer, the regional coroner, said there is a debate of what 
constitutes marijuana impairment. "Its a tough one because I think 
you will find theres more than a few doctors that will argue that 
cannabis doesnt impair you at all," he said. "I think in the 
circumstances the reason (the coroner) thought it was contributory is 
basically the nature of the incident, and the fact it does suppress 
you, even if its not something that would have a complete impairment, 
like over 0.08 with alcohol," said DeMeyer. The issue of timely 
reporting of the contributing factors and underlying causes of 
forestry fatals has been stressed by union and industry officials 
following a high-number of deaths in the sector last year. More than 
40 forestry workers were killed in 2005, double the number the year before.

Log truck drivers lead the death toll in northern B.C., where at 
least 25 truckers have been killed since 1995, most of those in an 
area 250 kilometres north, west and south of Prince George. The issue 
of marijuana use, raised by the coroners inquiry, is also of interest 
as some industry players have said that drug use is a hidden problem 
in the log trucking sector. However, except for marijuana use 
indicated in the preliminary coroners findings for a log trucker 
killed near Houston in December last year, theres been little 
evidence of drug or alcohol use uncovered in coroners reports 
examined by The Citizen from the past decade.

United Steelworkers local 1-425 safety official Norm Prevost said its 
difficult to deal with issues like marijuana use if it takes so long 
to deliver the coroners findings. "How can you get out and inform the 
rest of the drivers or deal with it, if you dont know what the cause 
of death is?" said Prevost, an union official in the Williams Lake 
area. This inquiry can also help highlight issues like fatigue and 
seatbelt use, said Prevost.

Central Interior Logging Association manager Roy Nagel said findings 
of coroners reports like this help confirm that there is use of drugs 
and alcohol. Its an issue that, "deep down," people know exits, he 
said. "It is something that has to be addressed," said Nagel, who is 
a director on the recently-established B.C. Forest Safety Council. 
Nagel stressed, however, that he hoped this was the last time it 
would take this long to get information from a coroners inquiry. "It 
prevents the industry and any other regulatory body from taking any 
action in a meaningful way if a real serious issue is identified," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman