City launches probe into arborist’s ‘heartbreaking’ death
Vancouver City Hall has launched an investigation into the tragic death of long-term arborist Jody Taylor, who was crushed by a branch Thursday as he pruned a damaged Catalpa tree in Connaught Park.
City manager Sadhu Johnston said the city plans to issue initial findings on the death to WorkSafeBC Saturday with a more indepth report within the next 30 days.
“It is a really, really sad day for us and it’s heartbreaking to lose one of our co-workers,” Johnston said Thursday. “The whole arborist team works closely together, in ditches, utility holds, bridges, trees ... we do engage in many areas of dangerous work and we take safety very seriously. This is obviously a very serious matter and we will be looking to learn from it.”
The city dropped its flags to half-mast and suspended work in its parks Friday to give staff time to grieve the death of Taylor, 43, who was in a bucket truck pruning the tree when he was killed. Counselling was offered to the city’s 10,000 workers, including Taylor’s four crew members, who witnessed his death.
Board general manager Malcolm Bromley said Taylor was a skilled and certified arborist who had worked for the park board for 16 years. He was also a musician and had a 10-year-old daughter.
“It’s not business as usual,” Bromley said, noting staff will need significant time to grieve. “There’s a tremendous amount of grief and outpouring for Jody. He was much loved. He was a big strong man with a big heart.”
Officials declined to release further details as the accident is under investigation.
Johnston noted arborist crews trim about 10,000 trees per year. The death marks the first worker fatality in the city since 1997, he added, but the city will look to see where it can improve its practices so it doesn’t happen again.
“We don’t know exactly yet what happened,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking for us to think of a 10-year-old daughter getting out of school and hearing this about her father.”
Mayor Gregor Robertson offered his condolences to Taylor’s family, friends and coworkers. He said the city has come a long way in providing safety for its employees, but noted April 28 remains a “powerful reminder of the too many families impacted by workplace fatalities.”
Andrew Ledger, president of CUPE 1004, said the union will also re-double its efforts to ensure occupational health and safety remains a top priority in the city. “(Taylor) went to work every day making our parks, playgrounds and boulevards not only beautiful but safe,” he said. “I think it was work he really valued.
“Our members go to work and expect to come home at the end of the day and that didn’t happen for Jody.”