Occupational Health and Safety is investigating after a 37-year-old Red Deer man was fatally injured last night in a workplace accident north of Airdrie on the QEII Hwy.

On Sept. 12th Airdrie RCMP responded to the QEII Hwy. about 10 kms north of Airdrie in the northbound lanes. Traffic was already reduced to one lane where construction crews were removing steel girders by using an excavator to load them from the roadway to a flat deck trailer. Preliminary investigation suggests that a steel girder had swung into the traffic lane while being lifted onto the trailer and was struck by a northbound semi tractor trailer unit. The resulting impact struck a construction worker and he was pronounced dead on scene. No other injuries were reported. The driver of the semi truck was not injured and remained on scene.

Traffic was shut down in the northbound lanes for approximately three hours as Occupational Health and Safety was on scene conducting their investigation. Traffic has since reopened to one lane of travel northbound.

The deceased’s name will not be released. The investigation is ongoing.

– Fawcett