A 27-year-old woman was rescued by emergency services after falling about 12 metres at the Pathways Retirement Village Construction Site at 4 Northwood Road Northwood on Monday, 26 September 2022. At the time of the incident, she was working as a traffic controller.
Emergency services were called to the worksite at around 5.45 pm.
Numerous crews, including ambulance, fire and rescue, and police, were in attendance. As this is a worksite, Safework NSW is in charge of investigating the cause of the accident.
ITC was advised by NSW Ambulance Media that the injured worker was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital by ambulance. The NSW Care Flight helicopter was called to assist and landed at 266 Longueville Road but was not required to take the injured woman to the hospital. NSW Ambulance advised that when the injured worker was taken from the site, she was in stable condition with injuries to her pelvis and ribs.
A spokesperson for NSW Fire and Rescue said two crews attended – one from Lane Cove and one from Crows Nest. The crews assisted in the rescue by placing the patient on Stokes Litta Stretcher (which is used in rescues where they need a stretcher that is able to be used in situations where a standard stretcher cannot be used).
ITC was advised at 7.32 pm on 26 September 2022 by a Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) spokesperson (the health district responsible for Royal North Shore Hospital) that the injured woman was in a stable condition. The next morning ITC was advised that the injured woman was in a critical condition and no further information would be provided to the media as her family had asked for privacy.
A spokesperson from SafeWork NSW advised ITC:
“SafeWork NSW responded to and have commenced an investigation following an incident at Lane Cove on 26 September 2022, where a female worker was injured.
As the investigation is ongoing, no further comment can be made at this time.”
This is not the first time SafeWork NSW has visited the site – read our article here.
Pathways issued the following statement:
Porters Northwood had concrete splattered across the building, and cars travelling along River Road were sprayed with concrete. ITC understands that the injured worker fell into an excavated pit after an accidental concrete pipe burst. No further information is available at this stage, and the full facts surrounding the injury will be revealed after Safework NSW has completed its investigations. The site was closed down after the incident, and as of 27 September 2022, the site remained closed.
In June 2021, Four workers were injured after a truck’s concrete pump exploded in Melbourne’s CBD.
Emergency crews rushed to the construction site on Bourke Street following a triple-zero call reporting an explosion had injured workers.
At the time, Victoria Police said in a statement:
In October 2019, The Age reported:
“Construction workers were injured and “concrete bullets” fired into a car during an industrial explosion at a CBD worksite on Saturday afternoon.”
In 2009 Queensland Worksafe issued a safety alert to highlight the issue of pipeline failure on concrete pumps, and to provide guidance on ways to minimise this risk.
An eyewitness observed a Policewoman examining three cars opposite Porters – she was recording evidence about the location of the cars and their numbers.
The injured traffic controller was well known to locals who walked past the construction site. One ITC reader told ITC:
“I walk with my daughter past the site every morning, and the lady has always been so chatty and friendly to us….She told me she has a 9 year old daughter”
This was one of the largest emergency services operations in the Lane Cove Council area since there was a gas explosion in the Lane Cove Plaza on May 26th 2014.
Background
Pathways Property Group (“Pathways”) is building a residential aged care facility at 274 and 274a Longueville Road and 4-18 Northwood Road, Lane Cove
The proposed development will include:
- 130-bed residential aged care facility
- Allied Health and community well-being services and neighbourhood shops
- A Senior Day Care Centre for Local Residents.
You can learn more about the development on the Pathways Longueville website.
Before demolition, there were six buildings (including the Metro Service Station, aka Speedway Petrol Station and the Riverview Vet) located on the site. The site is located at the notorious Longueville Road/Kenneth Street and River Road West intersection.
Demolition started on the site in November 2022. Since that time, ITC has been copied in on complaints to Lane Cove Council from neighbours and residents about the site. Complaints have ranged from no traffic control, trucks doing illegal U-turns, trucks parking on River Road waiting to access the site, weak hoardings, gates left wide open, trucks leaving dirt and sediment on the road, fuel odours and noise complaints.
A spokesperson for the Lane Cove Council advised ITC:
“Since the site started construction, Pathways Property group have been issued with 25 infringements as of the 31 August 2022.
The infringements are for $6,000.00.
The subject offences are as follows.
- 14 infringements for breach of the traffic management plan.
- 7 infringements for non-compliance with approved hours of construction.
- 3 infringements for non-compliance with conditions of development consent.
- 1 infringement for water pollution.
The Private Certifier is Philip Chun Access Pty Ltd, who is responsible for the development and compliance with the approved plans and development consent conditions.”
ITC understands that another fine was issued on 22 September 2020 for non-compliance with approved hours of construction.
Shoringco Pty Ltd is undertaking the demolition and excavation/shoring work.
Shoringco Pty Ltd was incorporated on 19 March 2018. On 27 May 2021, an application to strike off the company was lodged but was not successful (ITC is trying to obtain copies of the application).
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