Testimony reveals how plug pinned teen under water in Fredericton workplace death

WARNING: This story contains graphic content some readers may find disturbing.

An 18-year-old who died while on the job was pinned under water by an inflatable plug for several minutes, according to testimony by first responders who showed up to the scene.

Lt. Jason Belliveau, of the Fredericton Fire Department, testified that as many as seven firefighters and police officers tried to pull Michael Henderson out of a hole filled with water, but were unsuccessful.

He said that's because they later found out Henderson's body had been pinned against the wall of the concrete hole by a large inflatable water plug.

"There were probably six or seven people who were on that rope and were pulling on the rope, and there was no give," said Belliveau, who earlier testified that he'd tied a rope to Henderson's arm in an effort to free him.

Henderson was working on a construction project at the City of Fredericton's sewage treatment plant when he drowned on Aug. 16, 2018.

Jason King, who was the foreman on the job for Springhill Construction, has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence in connection to Henderson's death.

The trial continued at the Burton courthouse Friday with testimony from Belliveau, who was one of two firefighters to first arrive on scene.

Belliveau described how he received a call shortly before 1 p.m. of a possible drowning at the sewage plant on Barker Street.

He said he and another firefighter arrived and were directed to a large round pool-like structure that was under construction. The structure has been described in previous testimony as a clarifier.

Belliveau said he climbed down onto the floor of the clarifier and in the middle of it found a hole filled with water and someone partially inside it.

He said he initially thought that person was the victim, but later realized it was Eric Henderson, who was trying to reach down into the hole to pull his brother, Michael, up out of the water.

Belliveau said the dark water was gurgling up out of the concrete hole and he reached down to tie a rope to Henderson's arm.

When pulling Henderson out proved futile, Belliveau said the next option was to pump the water out of the hole using equipment attached to the fire trucks.

He said it would be about another 10 minutes before enough water had been sucked out of the hole before they could see Henderson's body.

"What we had was a large plug, and the plug had Mr. Henderson pinned up against the wall of the hole," Belliveau said.

Belliveau said it wasn't until he climbed into the hole and punctured the plug that he and other firefighters were able to lift out Henderson's body.

Patrick Pickard, a paramedic with Ambulance New Brunswick, also testified Friday about responding to the scene.

He said he arrived at 1:15 p.m. to find firefighters working to free Henderson from the hole, and it wasn't until 1:35 p.m that he was handed over to paramedics.

"Once you hit, I think, seven minutes without breathing, that's when your brain starts dying, and every two minutes after it just lessens the chance of bringing that person back," he said.

Friday saw Crown prosecutors call on witnesses who provided statements giving the clearest indications so far in the trial of what happened on the day Henderson died.

Earlier in the week they called on other witnesses who testified about the design of the construction project, as well as the potential use of the plug.

One witness testified that King discussed plans to use a plug to help carry out a test to determine whether a pipe running horizontally from the clarifier was watertight.

That test was to be done by filling a manhole connected to the horizontal pipe with water and letting it sit for several hours.

Henderson's co-worker testifies

Justice Thomas Christie also heard testimony Friday from Colin King, a cousin of Jason King, and a crew member who was working with Henderson at the time he died.

King, another Crown witness, testified that on Aug. 16, 2018, Jason King assigned him and Henderson the task of cleaning out the bottom of the hole at the centre of the clarifier.

King said Henderson volunteered to be the one to go into the hole to collect the debris in a bucket and pass it up to be discarded.

I hear the plug let go and turn around and see water coming up- Colin King

King said at some point that morning, he talked to Jason King about using a plug in the horizontal pipe at the bottom of the hole in order to stop water from trickling in.

King said he retrieved the plug and passed it down to Henderson, who put it in the pipe before an air compressor was used to inflate it.

King said they went for lunch at noon. When they returned to the job site, he said Henderson went into the hole to finish the clean up and collect his tools.

"I hear the plug let go and turn around and see water coming up," said King, describing what happened shortly after.

He said he rushed over to the hole and saw Henderson submerged in water up to his shoulders.

"That's when I grabbed him," said King, adding that the water continued to rise until it was over Henderson's head and flowing out of the hole.

King testified he was given no instruction on bracing the plug and ensuring it properly fit in the pipe, nor any plan when it came to safety when working in the hole with the plug installed.

Defence questions knowledge of test

On direct questioning, Colin King said he had no knowledge of when Jason King planned to start pouring water into the manhole as part of the test to determine if the pipe was watertight.

However, on cross examination by defence lawyer Patrick Hurley, Colin King admitted he was aware that water was flowing into the manhole during his lunch break.

Hurley also questioned King about whether Jason King knew Henderson would be going back into the hole after lunch.

"I'm going to suggest that sometime before lunch you had a discussion with Jason, and he asked how long you thought it would take to clean the hole, and you said you'd probably have it done by lunch time," Hurley said.

"I don't remember, but it's a possibility," King replied.

The trial is expected to resume on Monday with more testimony from people who were on the site when Henderson died.