Worker was struck by a transport truck
A construction worker has died after being struck by a transport truck in a highway work zone in Burton, N.B., and the province's workplace safety regulator has launched an investigation into the fatality.
The RCMP responded to the collision in the eastbound lane of Highway 2 at around 6:15 a.m. Thursday.
Police said the 53-year-old man was working on the highway when he was hit by the truck, which was towing a trailer. The driver called 911 and remained at the scene.
No one else was injured. Police said the incident remains under investigation but indicated they do not expect to lay charges. WorkSafeNB, the province's occupational health and safety authority, is conducting a separate investigation.
The worker was employed by Northern Construction, which confirmed the death in an emailed statement to CTV News Atlantic. "We are deeply saddened to confirm that a worker with Northern Construction was killed early this morning when struck by a vehicle on Highway 2," said Lynn Meahan-Carson, the company's manager of corporate communications. "Our condolences go out to the worker's family, friends, and co-workers."
The eastbound lane of Route 2 was closed for roughly seven hours while investigators remained on scene before it reopened.
No criminality involved, says police
Police do not believe the death resulted from a criminal activity or that the driver of the truck broke any road rules, Sgt. Stéphane Esculier of the Oromocto RCMP detachment said, according to a CBC News report.
“There's nothing that the transport truck driver did that would have been in contravention of Motor Vehicle Act," he said, according to the report. "So he was in his lane, did not go through a closed part of the highway.
"He was where he was supposed to be."
Police have not released the worker's name. Neither the RCMP nor WorkSafeNB had identified a cause as of the time of reporting, and no timeline has been provided for the conclusion of either investigation.
