Scott Ozee died nine years ago when a metal gutter pipe he was carrying on the roof of a building touched a high-voltage line. On Saturday, April 27 his mom will speak at Ben Lee Park as part of the B.C. Day of Mourning to honour victims of workplace accidents.
Image Credit: Facebook
April 27, 2018 - 3:15 PM
KELOWNA – A woman whose son was killed in a workplace accident will share her grief with Kelowna on the provincial Day of Mourning this weekend.
Renee Ozee’s son, Scott, died nine years ago when a metal gutter pipe he was carrying on the roof of a building touched a high-voltage line.
He was 23-years-old.
Ozee will be guest speaker tomorrow, April 28, on a day where communities across the province come together to honour B.C. workers who lost their lives or were seriously injured in 2017.
"I want to speak for my son. I want people to understand how important it is to keep job sites safe, to keep working men and women alive," Renee says in a release. "In spite of my being uncomfortable with public speaking, and certainly with talking about life without Scott… this needs to be said so no other family goes through what mine has."
Renee found out about her sons death at a police station and describes explaining what happened to Scott’s little brother as “the hardest thing.”
“Scott was like a dad to him, and I know that Liam was Scott's life,” she says. "There's not a day now that Liam doesn't talk about his brother. He tries everything that Scott did and liked. It's as if Liam is trying to be Scott."
Renee Ozee's son Scott was killed in a workplace accident nine years ago. She will be one of three speakers at Ben Lee Park this weekend for the B.C. Day of Mourning.
Image Credit: Facebook
Ozee says even nine years later, Scott is never far from her mind and she wants to see more attention paid to workplace safety.
“It's as hard for me today as it was that first afternoon,” she says. “Describing what happened takes so few words, but there’s no way to really explain what Scott's death has meant to me, to his 17-year-old brother Liam, to Scott's life partner Krista, and to his friends on and off the job."
WorkSafe B.C. accepted 158 work-related death claims in B.C. Of those deaths, 87 were from exposure to asbestos decades ago, and 71 were from traumatic injuries.
There were three work-related deaths in the Okanagan-Similkameen region in 2017.
A public memorial ceremony will be held in Kelowna’s Ben Lee Park at noon on Saturday, April 28. In addition to a presentation from Ozee, a representative form the North Okanagan Labour Council and the WorkSafe B.C. manager of client services will also speak.
"I think about Scott all the time,” Ozee says. “We all need to help get the message out that losing your life can be much too easy."
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