Good Samaritan rescues 10 year old boy

A 10-year-old child accidentally crushed by construction equipment in a municipal park in Sainte-Foy on Sunday may have been saved by the intervention of a good Samaritan, who questions the safety of the site. .

• Read also: A child injured by excavation equipment left in Notre-Dame-de-Foy Park

In the afternoon, Cédric Durand was quietly sitting with friends around a table in Notre-Dame-de-Foy park when two or three panicked children asked for their help.

“There is one who said that his friend was not breathing, the other who said that his friend had had an accident”, says the 39-year-old man who immediately went to see on the baseball field.

Heavy construction equipment, including a mechanical shovel, was stored there, but not used since it was the weekend, as part of work to replace the lighting system carried out by a City subcontractor.

A 10-year-old boy was trapped under a bucket, the shovel-shaped part that clings to the arm of the machine.

Everything indicates that the child was having fun around the equipment with his comrades when the heavy object tipped against him.

In respiratory distress

“He had a purple face. In my opinion, it’s been a while. He was in respiratory distress, ”says Mr. Durand.

The boy, who did not appear to be accompanied, was “completely crushed under the weight of the shovel” from the lower body to the abdomen, according to the witness.

“He had his arms out, he was trying somehow to get out of there, but it was impossible for him, it was much too heavy. »

Saying to act by “instinct”, Cédric Durand lifted the bucket with all his might. “I still wonder how I did […]I wouldn’t have done it twice,” he says.

While Mr. Durand could no longer bear the weight, the child managed to extricate himself completely “at the last second”.

The firefighters, then the paramedics then arrived and took care of him.

Covered in bruises, the boy was “really in pain” and had difficulty moving his legs, Durand said.

On Monday, he was still receiving treatment, but there was no fear for his life, according to the man, who was able to speak with a relative.

Questions

The Good Samaritan and a lady, who also witnessed the scene, claim that access to the baseball field was not blocked and deplore that the site equipment was too easily accessible, or at least not sufficiently fixed.

“We imagine a 10-year-old child, he is in the park, we don’t see excavators every day. Of course they were going to have a look,” says Mr. Durand.

In a written response, the City of Quebec apologized for this “unfortunate accident”.

According to her, the park supervisor had repeatedly asked the group of children not to approach the construction site.

“The City asked the contractor to add fencing to block access to the baseball field, and that the latter change his methods of storing equipment. In addition, the City will conduct a daily site safety audit,” said spokesperson David O’Brien.

The CNESST also sent an inspector on site and asked for corrective action.