$25K fine for demolition company in fatal 2019 collision not enough, family says

The son of a Winnipeg woman who died two years ago after being run over by a construction truck says financial fines won’t bring justice.

“It’s not fair,” said Oliver Muñoz Orellana, whose mother, Tamara Orellana, was killed. He lives in Chile with his wife, Andrea Royo, and their almost two-year-old daughter, Mathilda Muñoz Royo.

He spoke in Spanish to CBC in an interview last Saturday, while his wife translated to English.

“We feel that they are almost laughing at us,” he said. “They shouldn’t receive just a fine but maybe … a punishment of some sort.”

His 57-year-old mother was walking across the parking lot at Garden City Shopping Centre on April 1, 2019, when she was hit by a truck driven by a Bulldog Demolition and Excavation employee.

The dump truck was removing debris from the southwest corner of the shopping centre during a renovation. An excavator operator signalled for it to reverse and Orellana was hit, a news release from the province said.

She died at the scene.

In a provincial court hearing on June 10, Bulldog Demolition owner Eric Fleury pleaded guilty to one count of failing to make sure the public is not at risk in connection with the workplace under the Workplace Health and Safety Act. Other charges were stayed by the Crown.

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