A “fabulous  young man” from Quebec, who came to spend the summer working in the South Okanagan fruit industry, was killed following a tragic accident at a local fruit packing house early Friday morning.

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a male who died following an accident at Fernandes Farm Packing House, where he had worked for the summer.

The deceased has been identified as Gabriel Gendreau-Martineau, aged 23, of St. Agathe, Quebec, a town in the Laurentian mountains northwest of Montreal.

Gendreau-Martineau had spent the summer working on the Osoyoos fruit farm, but had concluded his work there.

He was still tenting on the property prior to his planned departure back to Quebec the same day he died.

A full-time worker on the farm found Gendreau-Martineau deceased at the base of a six-metre high pile of stacked fruit crates.

A preliminary investigation by police suggests he was climbing the stack in the early morning hours, when the top crate came loose, causing him to fall to the parking lot below.

The BC Coroners Service and the RCMP continue to investigate this death.

Gendreau-Martineau’s family has been notified of his death. On behalf of the family, the BC Coroners Service asks that the media respect their privacy at this difficult time.

Gendreau-Martineau had completed his last shift for the season on Thursday and had planned to return to Quebec Friday morning when the tragic accident took place, said Sue Fernandes, who has owned a fruit stand and fruit packing business in Osoyoos for more than 30 years with her husband Tom.

“There was an accident and he fell,” she said. “This was not work related at all and it happened long after he had finished his last shift. He was all alone and there were no witnesses, so we’ll probably never know exactly what happened. But we’re all devastated because he was very well liked here and was like a member of our family since we hired him.”

Cpl, Jason Bayda, the acting commander of the Osoyoos RCMP detachment, said the incident was reported to police at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

“Our office was called to a report of a deceased male at Fernandes Fruits,” said Bayda, in a press release. “The 23 year old male, a resident of Quebec. worked at Fernandes Fruits, but he had completed his last shift the day before and was no longer employed there as the work he was doing was done.

“The investigation has revealed the male was last seen by other workers in the previous night and very early hours of the morning. Sometime between then and when he was discovered, it is evident that for reasons unknown, he was trying to climb a stack of empty crates when he fell.”

The crates were approximately 30 feet high and it appears he fell from the top and suffered serious injuries, said Bayda.

His body was located in the morning on the ground by the crates and he showed no signs of life, said Bayda.

“Although this occurred at his former place of employment, it is not considered an industrial workplace accident as his actions at the time were in no way related to his employment,” he said. “Instead this is a tragic death due to the fall. This investigation has been turned over to the coroner’s office.”

Fernandes said this incident has deeply affected everyone who works at her family’s business.

“We’re all still in shock and all of us are a mess,” she said. “We try and treat all of our employees like family and this young man was very popular with all of our staff and we’re all just devastated.”

The deceased was fun-loving, hard-working and had thoroughly enjoyed his time working and living in Osoyoos, she said.

“We was full of hope and dreams and was very interested in becoming an actor. He was loved by everybody here and will be sadly missed.”

Members of his family have been informed about this tragedy and have made arrangements to transport his body back to Quebec, she said.

Her family’s business employs up to 50 people during the peak  season and many of them are from Quebec and other countries from around the world, she said.

“We’ve been in this business a long time and our reputation has never been in doubt,” she said. “We provide housing and showers for all of our workers and we try and treat everyone like family. This was just a tragic accident and we’re devastated.”

The Coroners Service of British Columbia is responsible for the investigation of all unnatural, sudden and unexpected, unexplained or unattended deaths.

It makes recommendations to improve public safety and prevent death in similar circumstances.

The Coroners Service is a fact-finding, not a fault-finding agency that provides an independent service to the family, community, government agencies and other organizations.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times