A Creston man died after his logging truck tipped over, a coroner’s inquest has been told.
The inquest into Linden Lyle Faulkner’s death opened today in Cranbrook’s Supreme Court.
Witnesses took to the stand to discuss the circumstances surrounding the 33-year-old’s death on Aug. 28, 2018.
One witness said they were driving up the logging road between 6:30 and 7 a.m., calling out distance markers along the way.
The callouts stopped after some time, and the witness said they saw Faulkner’s logging truck on its side about 50 kilometres up Bull River Forest Service Road.
They briefly attempted to recover Faulkner from the vehicle before calling for help.
According to witness testimony, the load of logs spilled, causing the truck to tip over into the ditch on the driver’s side.
This threw the cab’s contents onto Faulkner, including a heavy truck battery, which was unsecured under the passenger seat.
Witnesses described seeing a broken bolt on the road near the crash site, which is believed to have caused the spill.
One witness, who was an RCMP officer investigating the scene, said the vehicle appeared to be poorly maintained.
The inquest will continue for the rest of the week in Cranbrook’s courthouse.
Coroners Service officials said inquests are used to gather information related to a person’s death, make recommendations meant to prevent similar deaths, and give the public confidence that the circumstances surrounding a person’s death are not overlooked, concealed or ignored.
