Business owner pleads guilty in asphalt death

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The 15-year-old boy killed when a large load of hot asphalt fell on top of him is being remembered by friends and colleagues as a hard worker who looked out for other people. Andrew James died Friday morning July 25, 2008 on a Stony Mountain construction site where he was working as part of a paving crew with Interlake Asphalt Paving.

WINNIPEG - A Manitoba business owner has pleaded guilty to numerous workplace and safety violations - including employing under-aged workers - following the death of a 15-year-old boy who was buried in burning asphalt.

Gerald Shepell, 48, owner of Interlake Paving, admitted Thursday he breached both the Workplace Health and Safety Act and Employment Standards Code in connection with the July 2008 tragedy just north of Winnipeg.

Andrew James died almost instantly when he became trapped underneath asphalt which spilled from a truck while working at a former Manitoba Hydro substation in Stony Mountain. Several co-workers, including Shepell, desperately tried to save the teen after he apparently lost his footing while shoveling asphalt from a trailer box into a back-hoe scoop. The company was dumping asphalt into a massive pile to use for various projects around town when the accident occurred.

"James paid the ultimate price. He was killed on a site he had no place being in the first place," Crown attorney Sean Brennan told court. Provincial law requires all construction site employees to be at least 16 unless a special permit has been granted. Shepell admits James began working for him when he was just 14, along with another boy who was 13.

"The province had no opportunity to evaluate the dangers he was subjecting young workers too," said Brennan. "He had no business being in business."

The Crown is now seeking significant fines against Shepell, who has owned the business since 2005 after taking it over from a family member. The maximum penalty is $180,000.

Defence lawyer Randy Minuk is seeking penalties not exceeding $30,000, saying anything more would likely put him and his employees out of business.

"Don’t make an example out of a man who can’t really afford it," said Minuk. He said Shepell feels tremendous guilt for what happened to James, who he considered "like a son."

"I have deep remorse and regret with what we did that day, it cost our dear friend his life," Shepell said Thursday. "It’s a great loss for all of us."

Provincial court Judge Kelly Moar has reserved his decision until Nov. 26.

The victim’s parents were in court to support Shepell, saying they hold no ill will towards him for what happened. They previously told the Free Press they would help him pay fines if he were to be convicted and that they were thankful for the opportunity he gave their son.

"He was like a father figure to these boys. If I have to, on my days off when I’m not working, I’ll go and help him out to raise the money to pay for these charges," Roberta James, a 40-year-old mom with three other children, said in a prior interview. "It’s not as if he did this on purpose. It’s not as if he was doing anything bad. In fact, he was doing good. We’re from a small town, there’s not a lot for them to do, he took them under his wing. He taught them things they normally would not have learned."

The family had given Shepell permission to employ their son, who had been skipping school and frequently hanging out at job sites beginning at the age of 14, court was told. Shepell described him as a talented, hard working teen who was "advanced" beyond his years.

"I was giving him work instead of schooling," Shepell told investigators. He said James had unloaded asphalt "hundreds of times" prior to the deadly mistake which ended his life.

"This is something that haunts him every day," Minuk said Thursday. "It could have been prevented and he really didn’t appreciate the risks."

Shepell still bears scars on his hands and arms from reaching into the asphalt, which was about 300-degrees, court was told. Shepell admits the only training the under-aged workers received was "by watching us work around town" - something the Crown says is unacceptable.

"It was slipshod and by the seat of his pants," said Brennan. "He failed utterly in every regard."

No criminal charges were ever laid against Shepell, who was given a stop-work order following the accident but has since resumed his business.

Minuk said there have been numerous safety improvements and additions to ensure history never repeats itself.