Construction worker dies in accident at Kasidaya Creek Hydro site
A young Skagway man was killed in an accident at the Kasidaya Creek Hydro construction site Thursday morning, March 20.
Officials waited until next of kin had been notified before releasing information Friday afternoon about the death of Derek Sather, 27, an employee of Hunz & Hunz Enterprises, a Skagway construction firm doing work at the site.
According to a press release issued by Alaska Power and Telephone at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sather was part of a crew involved in the "normal movement of 10 yards of concrete in a mixer truck from the beach at the Kasidaya Creek Hydro project to the project dam site."
The release continued, "The incident occurred at 900 feet on the Kasidaya Creek Road when a loader was being connected to the concrete truck to assist it up the hill."
Skagway Fire Department received a call that a man was pinned between two vehicles, said Skagway Fire Chief Mark Kirko. The department began to mobilize equipment for a possible lifting of heavy machinery, but were then called back and told that the man had been freed.
Co-workers then proceeded to try and resuscitate Sather with an AED unit and rescue breathing efforts, the release said.
The Skagway Public Safety boat and a helicopter responded, both arriving there about a half hour after the call came in. Strather's co-workers were administering CPR, and then Skagway EMTs took over those efforts. Kirko said the victim was moved to the boat for transport to Skagway. EMTs were in communication with an emergency room doctor in Juneau, and Strather was pronounced dead on the rescue boat at approximately 9:48 a.m.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Derek's family and his co-workers," state Roger Bargar, superintendent for the Kasidaya project.
David Hunz, owner of Hunz and Hunz Enterprizes, said "Derek was a wonderful, energetic, thoughtful young man and will be missed by all that knew and worked with him."
Kirko said he "feels for the construction workers" when accidents like this occur. "It's like losing a family member."
Services for Sather are pending.
The site is on the east side of Taiya Inlet, about three miles from Skagway. AP&T is constructing a hydroelectric dam there to service customers in Skagway and Haines. The project is due to be on line later this year.
Officials with the state Department of Labor's Alaska Occupational Safety and Health (AKOSH) were due on the scene Friday afternoon to begin investigating the incident, according to the press release. The AKOSH director was unavailabe for comment until Monday. – JB
An updated version of this story will be published in the March 28, 2008 Skagway News.