Trust fund set up for family of girl killed by storm debris
A trust fund has been established for the family of a little girl who died after being hit by debris that flew off a downtown building on the weekend during a storm.
Police are investigating whether negligence was a factor in the death of Michelle Krsek, 3, who was killed instantly when a piece of metal more than three metres long fell from a building on Ninth Avenue around 8 p.m. Saturday.
The debris fell from near the top of the 18-storey Le Germain Calgary — an upscale condominium and office tower now being constructed.
Alberta workplace inspectors are also involved in the probe, going to as many as 20 other construction sites in the city to determine whether the public or workers could be at risk should construction debris be kicked up in a windstorm.
Calgary fire department spokesman Barry Dawson said the wind-blown debris first glanced off a bus then hit members of the Krsek family as they were walking down the street.
"That stuff was just random building material which included some small metal pieces, some bigger metal pieces, some plywood pieces and just some random building material that was up there," Dawson said.
A makeshift memorial was set up at the scene of the incident on Sunday. A trust fund for the family was organized Tuesday at the Bank of Montreal under the name Miroslav or Mariana Krsek.
Krsek's father and seven-year-old brother remained in hospital Monday with non-life-threatening injuries. A woman in the group was not injured.
Marco Civitarese, operational supervisor for the city's building department, said several agencies are investigating the incident. "The safety component is our immediate concern — of course the public safety. So under the building code, we have jurisdiction for fencing and barricades and how it is to be constructed."
City police are looking at whether negligence contributed to the mishap and provincial workplace safety officials are examining whether the site might have been a danger to workers.
The company building the tower, Grenville-Germain Calgary Ltd., has voluntarily stopped work on the site as a result of the incident. Company president Christiane Germaine said the firm is shocked by the tragedy.
"We are very saddened by this tragic incident. Our thoughts are continuously going towards the family," she said. "It is an extremely, extremely sad story and we're very sorry that that whole thing happened."
Germain said the firm is co-operating with investigators from the police department and province.