Tractor pins worker; clings to life for two weeks
site and, though gravely injured, seems to be improving and likely to recover from the accident, only to have his situation, after a few days, turn for the worse and end with him succumbing to his injuries.
Family, friends and fellow workers, buoyed by his improvement and hopeful of his recovery, are then saddened and grieve his demise.
Such was the heartbreaking turn of events for James Sawchuk, who was employed as a tractor driver by Broderick Bros., subcontractors on the Welland Ship Canal project.
Sawchuk was one of a number of Ukrainian-Canadians who found work constructing the canal. He, however, was likely born in Manitoba, not in the Ukraine. Many Ukrainian immigrants had settled in the Prairie provinces, beginning in 1891.
Sawchuk was born on June 22, 1906. His death certificate states that he was born in “Ukrania”, but The Standard’s announcement of his death, on Aug. 3, 1928, stated that he had been born in Manitoba. It is not certain which stated place of birth is correct, but there is a hamlet (train stop and post office) named Ukraina in Manitoba, in an area set- tled in the 1890s almost exclusively by Ukrainian immigrant families. The surname Sawchuk is also relatively common, and appears in the Prairie provinces, and certainly in Manitoba. Was James Sawchuk indeed from that town in Manitoba?
Sawchuk was single. For the five years prior to his death he had been living with his brother Steve on Haynes Avenue in St. Catharines. Their father’s name was John but the mother’s name was not given on James’ death certificate.
He was working near the new gate yard at Port Weller on July 21, 1928, at 8 a.m., operating a tractor towing two loaded dump cars on the downgrade. At the inquest held Aug. 16, the foreman in charge, Thomas Mackenzie, stated that Sawchuk did not obey braking protocols. Apparently he drove through a stop where a brakeman was supposed to release a hook from the front of the tractor and place it at the side. This was to enable the tractor to hold back the train on the downgrade. Because the tractor and dump cars were travelling at a fast rate of speed, this did not allow Sawchuk sufficient time to escape his precarious position before the cars crashed into the tractor, pinning him between them.
He was removed from the wreck and rushed to the Homer Hospital. There Dr. McCombe examined Sawchuk, saw that he had been badly crushed,andorderedhimtransferred to St. Catharines General Hospital.
James Sawchuk, 22
Born: June 22, 1906 (Ukraina, Man.) Died: Aug. 3, 1928 (died from an accident that occurred July 21 in Section 1 near the Gate Yard, Port Weller) Cause of death: crushed between tractor and dump cars Occupation: tractor operator, Broderick Contractors Ltd. Burial: Victoria Lawn Cemetery, St. Catharines (Old Section Q, R.C. Singles, Row K, Grave 6)
There, it was found that Sawchuk had severe internal injuries and needed close attention. For a time he seemed to be holding his own and possibly improving. However, at the beginning of August, he began to weaken, and on Aug. 3, two weeks after the accident, he died from shock, fracture of the pelvis and peritonitis.
The coroner’s jury, convened by Dr. D.V. Currey, sat for just an hour when it reached the verdict that “death was purely accidental.” (Unfortunately, this kind of vague verdict was rendered too many times during the construction of the Welland Ship Canal.)
Grobb Brothers, funeral directors in St. Catharines, looked after arrangements for Sawchuk’s funeral. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Victoria Lawn Cemetery, St. Catharines.