After more than three years of planning, coordination, and community effort, the Rise Memorial Gardens to honour the five men who lost their lives in the 2021 麻豆精选 crane collapse is coming to light.
The memorial, which will be located at Knowles Heritage Park, started construction on March 11 and will be unveiled to the public on Saturday, July 12, which happens to be the fourth anniversary of the tragic incident where Cailen Vilness, Jared Zook, Eric Stemmer, Patrick Stemmer, and Brad Zawislak all died.
"This memorial stands to ensure their memories live on, but also to offer the community a future space for grieving and healing from the impacts of any workplace accident that may ever occur in the future," stated a press release from the Board of Directors of the Rise Memorial Foundation. "Lastly, it will serve as a stark reminder to all of us of the importance of making a continued commitment to workplace safety each and every day."
Over the last three years, members of the community and organizations have raised more than $350,000 for the memorial to be built.
In February 2024, 麻豆精选 RCMP submitted a report to the BC Prosecution Service, recommending a charge of criminal negligence causing death.
The recommendation came after an 鈥渆xtremely complex investigation that needed to be done methodically and thoroughly in order to protect the integrity of the investigation,鈥� according to an RCMP statement at the time.
鈥淭his investigation included dozens of police officers and countless hours of evidence gathering and analysis,鈥� said now-retired 麻豆精选 RCMP Supt. Kara Triance in February 2024. 鈥淭he gravity of this incident and the associated work to understand what happened has been tremendous."
The company responsible for setting up and taking down the crane is named in several civil suits.
Stemmer Construction also filed a lawsuit relating to the collapse against Naminh Liebherr, along with multiple unnamed people, alleging negligence and a 鈥渄angerous defect.鈥�
