A truck driver escaped with his life after his industrial truck loaded with woody debris and trees slid into Nitinaht Lake Aug. 26 when the embankment he was driving on collapsed.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. Posted by Roc-Star Enterprises, the video shows an industrial truck loaded with logs driving onto an embankment on Nitinaht Lake when the soil gives way, causing the truck to tumble sideways into the lake. The driver reportedly escaped through a window and swam ashore, uninjured.
In an Aug. 28 post to their Facebook page, Roc-Star Enterprises said that the incident occurred during a fish habitat restoration project. “Roc-Star experienced a serious unexpected shoreline collapse at one of our works sites. The incident occurred while Heavy Equipment was operating near the shoreline, resulting in the submersion of a truck,” they wrote.
Roc-Star Enterprises went on to say that the experienced driver was able to escape the truck and swim to safety, uninjured.
Roc-Star Enterprises say they shared the video to underscore the need for vigilance, planning and safety training due to ‘the unpredictable nature of shoreline work’.
WorkSafeBC has been notified and is investigating the incident. Information provided to Ha-Shilth-Sa through WorkSafeBC says restoration work was being carried out in a stream that involved the removal of debris both in the stream and along the banks. “As the truck was preparing to back up the surrounding soil could not support the truck and it fell into the lake,” states the report.
“The driver exited the vehicle through the window and was assisted to shore by the dive team,” the report continues.
The truck, described as an articulating rock truck, went onto a beach that could not support its weight. WorkSafeBC wrote, “the soil became liquefied and the truck became unstable and rolled into the lake.”
Roc-Star Enterprises declined to comment further but said that they are cooperating with WorkSafeBC during the investigation.
The company has been cited under regulation OHS4.1 by WorkSafeBC, meaning they failed to ensure the safety of the workplace for their employees. They are required to deliver a compliance report, ensuring that their workplace ‘is planned, constructed, used and maintained to protect from danger any person working at the workplace.’
Their written Notice of Compliance Report must be submitted to WorkSafeBC no later than September 25, 2025.
“We are sharing this incident to raise awareness and support safer practises industry wide,” Roc-Star Enterprises writes on their social media page.
Ha-Shilth-Sa reached out to Ditidaht First Nation but did not receive a response.
