5 days Ago By Jason Hills
Article content The tragic death of a 46-year-old woman after a recliner fell off a truck on Yellowhead Trail at Winterburn Road earlier this month is a stark reminder to always secure a load properly when transporting materials. The woman was critically injured after colliding with a large chair that fell off an older model dark-coloured pickup truck and moments later was rear-ended by a Chevrolet Avalanche. She died on Nov.
12 in hospital, six days after the crash. Edmonton police said the crash happened around 9 p.m.
on Nov. 6. The driver of the dark pickup truck originally pulled over but fled the scene after the collision, and police are seeking any information from the public regarding the driver of the pickup.
Anyone with information can contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567. “It’s important to always have your load secured, especially if you’re going to be hitting highway speeds,” said Alberta RCMP Const. Lou Leroux.
“Incidents where objects are falling out of trucks are more common than you would think. Most officers have to use it as an educational moment. “Depending on how grievous the situation is, we will issue a ticket, and most of the time help them and show them how to properly secure the load.
” Leroux said as an RCMP officer for more than two decades, he’s seen many incidents where materials have flown out of the back of trucks that can cause major damage to vehicles. It is not just dangerous, it causes insurance headaches and hefty fines for everyone involved. “In a lot of cases, it may be the first time they’re driving a truck, and they’re not sure how to safely secure the load,” said Leroux.
Tony Singh, part owner of YEG Movers, said he heard about the incident earlier this week and spoke with his staff about the tragedy and gave them a safety reminder. Singh said moving is an unregulated industry, and he said he often has several customers reach out to his company after they’ve tried to hire a mover through a website like Facebook Marketplace and have run into problems. “Edmonton is getting so big that each month there are thousands of people moving.
I have no problem if people want to move on their own, I just encourage them to do it safely, and I let them know we have people available to help them out,” said Singh. “There needs to be more structure and rules within the industry, and there are people out there trying to make extra money, and they hire someone who shows up with a pickup truck and don’t have the proper equipment to properly transport items. “The consequences can be very bad if you don’t have a secure load.
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