Family describes anguish following death of Sudbury miner nearing retirement

The coroner’s inquest looking into the death of Mark Beskorowany began April 8 with emotional statements from his wife and daughter. (File)

A Sudbury man was nearing retirement when he was killed while drilling blast holes at a rock quarry 80 kilometres outside of Sudbury in August 2019.

The coroner’s inquest looking into the death of Mark Beskorowany began April 8 with emotional statements from his wife and daughter.

Lori Beskorowany said her husband was looking forward not only to retiring in 18 months, but also to the birth of their first grandchild, born two months after he was killed.

He died when a 38,000-pound rock drill tipped over, crushing the lower part of his body. The tragedy took place Aug. 19 at the quarry in River Valley and he passed away two days later in hospital.

The inquest jury is tasked with looking into the details of what happened that day and possibly coming up with recommendations on preventing similar tragedies.

Grandchild born two months after tragedy

Lori said her husband was born in Sudbury in 1965 and had “a heart big enough for everyone he encountered.”

“He was looking forward to retirement … and welcoming his first grandchild,” she said, her voice breaking.

“Above all, he was a family man … I saw him as the heartbeat of our family. When he died, that heart was ripped away.”

Since his death, the family has “felt frozen in time,” she said.

“He should still be here laughing around a campfire with his grandchildren,” Lori said.

“Let this story be a reminder that every worker deserves to come home.”

Still has nightmares

Beskorowany’s daughter, Ashley, wasn’t able to read her own statement, but it described her father as a “source of love, support and guidance” for her that was suddenly ripped away weeks before she gave birth.

Instead of celebrating the birth of a child, she was forced to make funeral arrangements “while feeling broken inside.”

The tragedy has left her with deep anxiety and she has nightmares in which she is with him and watches as he is killed.

“These visions have stayed with me,” she said.

She couldn’t properly celebrate motherhood because “a huge part of me was broken. I will never get that experience back ... All I want is to hear is his guidance and voice.”

Hayley Crooks, an articling student at the office of the chief coroner, read the overview of what happened that day.

Beskorowany was working for Consbec Inc., which was contracted to drill and blast rock at the quarry owned by Coloured Aggregates Inc.

He was on a platform operating the rock drill, which moved along the sloped platform at the quarry using a track similar to that used by snowmachines.

Beskorowany would move to the next spot as he drilled one marked hole after another in preparation for blasting.

Drill tipped over, slid down rockface

As it moved along the slope, the drill lost traction and began to tip over. Beskorowany, standing on the exposed platform, rode the rock drill for five or 10 feet as it fell and then jumped off in an attempt to get clear before it landed.

However, he tripped and fell when he landed and the drill fell on him, crushing the lower part of his body.

Inquest counsel Jai Dhar showed photographs of the drill from the site, as well as a six-minute video from the scene taken by the Ontario Provincial Police the day after the tragedy.

Testifying Wednesday afternoon were Kyle Watson, a mining inspector with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, and Cynthia Matikainen, a forensic engineer who did an independent investigation of the scene for the ministry.

The inquest is expected to last seven days and hear from six witnesses.