The trial of a construction company and foreman charged in a Burnaby workplace death learned the history of a retaining wall that collapsed in 2012, killing one worker and injuring another.
Longtime Edinburgh Street resident Thomas Whiffin continued his testimony Tuesday at the trial J. Cote and Son Excavating Ltd. and foreman David Green.
J. Cote is on trial for criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing injury.
Green faces the same charges and an additional charge of manslaughter.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
Last week, Whiffin told the court J. Cote had a dug trench about five inches from his property line during a storm- and sewer-pipe replacement project in a lane behind his house at 4015 Edinburgh St.
He said the trench had proceeded west in the same line beside the retaining wall at the back of his next door neighbour's property at 4009 Edinburgh, before the wall collapsed, crushing 28-year-old pipe layer Jeff Caron to death and injuring his co-owner Thomas Richer.
When crews returned months later, he said they dug the trench closer to the middle of the lane and farther from the property line.
"As soon as the wall collapsed, they went right out in the middle of the lane away from the walls," he said.
He said he had been worried about the trench because of a history of water issues in the area that could make the trench unstable.
Under cross-examination Tuesday, however, Whiffin agreed it hadn't rained during the project and the ground was dry the day of the collapse.
After Green's lawyer Joe Saulnier asked Whiffin to examine certain details in photos of the trench, Whiffin also agreed that, while the trench was about five inches away from the property line at his driveway, it was as far as 18 inches away from the property lines to the east and west of his driveway.
No footing
The wall that collapsed was built because of complaints Whiffin's father made to the municipality of Burnaby in 1977, according to letters presented in court.
In the letter, Whiffin's father complained about logs the municipality had used to build up the slope at the back of his property so it wouldn't slide onto the lane. He said the logs were rotting, and it was affecting his property.
"The bank is slipping, and the cement flooring of my rear shed is badly cracked and sinking," stated the letter. "It's only a matter of time before the back of my carport will slide into the alley and block it."
Whiffin's father said it was the municipality's responsibility to build a proper retaining wall, and the city eventually agreed after initially refusing the request, according to letters back and forth between the two parties.
Whiffin told the court he was away at school when the wall was built, so he didn’t see how it was constructed.
After the wall collapsed, Whiffin agreed he was surprised to see the wall had no footing, no horizontal piece at the bottom that would allow the weight of the dirt to hold it in place.
Whiffin said he was also surprised to see the wall had not been tied back in any way and its joints were not reinforced with rebar.
"Despite having been there over 30 years, being around when it was built, you had no idea that this wall had been built without a footing, is that fair?"
"That's true," Whiffin said.
"Without seeing the wall being built, you couldn't see what was underneath all that dirt," Saulnier said.
"No," Whiffin said.
'No one saw that coming'
Saulnier's last question to Whiffin during cross-examination was about a police interview in June 2020.
A police investigator asked him what his impression had been of the J. Cote crew, and Whiffin said he thought they "ran a clean crew," according to a transcript presented in court.
"I thought these guys were pretty professional," he said in the interview. "No one saw that coming."
"That was your honest assessment of what you saw?" Saulnier asked Whiffin in court.
"Absolutely," Whiffin said.
The trial is expected to continue Thursday.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
Email [email protected]
