A 35-year-old Brandon man is dead after being crushed by a forklift at Home Depot.
Emergency crews were called to a hardware and lumber store on 18th Street North at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Brandon Police Service Sgt. Rod Koscielny said the victim was working on a forklift when it fell on him, pinning him underneath.
Store staff somehow managed to free the man and began to perform CPR before paramedics arrived.
The man was transported to Brandon hospital, where he died.
Police taped off an area around a forklift and van outside Home Depot and company spokeswoman, Dina Vieira, confirmed the tragedy happened at its store.
The victim was a contract worker who was working on the forklift, she said.
"Apparently, he was looking underneath it and what had been hoisted up fell on his head," Vieira said, adding the man worked for Toromont Cat.
Staff at the Brandon Toromont Cat office confirmed the victim was an employee, but declined comment.
Vieira couldn't specify what might have gone wrong with the forklift or how it was hoisted and the company is investigating whether any safety procedures were violated.
"It's extremely sad and our heart goes out to his family," Vieira said.
Workplace Safety and Health officials referred questions to a government spokesman who could only confirm an investigation is underway.
Police haven't released the man's name.
-- Brandon Sun
Big-box injuries tracked
Sprawl-Busters is a website that keeps a running tab on injuries and deaths from falling merchandise at big-box stores in the United States.
California state legislators passed laws requiring better protection of consumers from merchandise falling from "sky shelves" -- warehouse-style shelves that tower metres above shoppers' heads in retail stores.
Deaths reported on sprawl-busters.com include:
A young boy, believed to be about seven, was seriously injured in 2001 by a falling steel door during a shopping trip to a Home Depot in Durham, North Carolina.
A girl, three, died as a result of injuries from falling counter-tops that tumbled to the floor from an overhead bin at a Twin Falls, Idaho, Home Depot in 2000.
A boy, six, died in 2003 from injuries when a 45-kilogram patio door fell on him at a Home Depot in Pharr, Texas.
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