Walking near a construction site proved deadly for a pedestrian in downtown Montreal when he was hit by a three-tonne steel plate.

Saad Syed, a 32-year-old language teacher, was walking on Mountain St. near Rene Levesque Blvd. when an excavator carrying a metal plate about 2.5 metres wide and 6 metres long starting moving through the site.

The chain holding the metal snapped, dropping the nearly three-tonne steel plate on the victim and knocking him unconscious.

“The man was just walking and this plate fell on his head,” said witness Luce Turmel, who said she was stunned by what she saw.

“There was no safety latch on the hook to maintain the object, so the steel plate slipped and fell on the pedestrian,” said Dominique David of Quebec's workplace safety board, the CSST.

“We don't know yet if it was human error, but the inspectors will see in their investigation,” said David.

It’s not yet clear why the plate wasn’t properly attached, nor why the area was not off-limits to pedestrians.

When paramedics arrived, they rushed Syed to hospital in critical condition but about an hour later he died of his injuries.

 

Born and raised in DDO

Syed was a Dollard des Ormeaux native who lived in Montreal all his life.

"He was born and raised here, ended up doing an English Literature degree at Concordia" University, said Sameer Zuberie.

His friends were shocked by his sudden death.

"He was a gentle soul," said Zuberi. "Saad was a nice person, always mild-mannered, mild-tempered. I think that spoke of Saad and his personality, his character."

Syed worked as an English teacher at the GEOS Language Academy and friends said he enjoyed his job.

"H was very happy the last time I saw him," Zuberi said.

The Academy issued a statement saying "He’s going to be greatly missed. We are all in shock. We all loved him."

Syed's funeral will be held later this week at a mosque in DDO.

 

First day after holidays

The CSST and the Quebec coroner’s office are handling the investigation into Syed’s death, which took place on the first day back at work for about 160,000 construction workers across the province.

The annual two-week construction holiday ended on Sunday, and the CSST issued a statement Monday morning reminding workers to take care as they returned to work.

There were 7,537 accidents in the construction sector in Quebec in 2012. The CSST says 42 per cent of all workplace accidents happen from August to November.