‘Just looking for some closure’: Heartbroken family visits site of B.C. crane collapse

KELOWNA, B.C. —
Their hearts are heavy. Their lives forever changed.

The grieving family of Jared Zook went to the scene of the tragic Kelowna crane collapse Tuesday night, bringing flowers and photos of Jared with them.

“We’re just looking for some closure,” said Jared’s father, Steven Zook.

Jared Zook, 32, is one of four men who died when a crane attached to a highrise under construction suddenly collapsed. The men worked on the construction site. Another man who was working in a nearby building is presumed dead. His body remains buried beneath the rubble.

Steven Zook says his son moved from Edmonton to Kelowna for work as a crane rigger.

“He loved what he did. He was loved by his crew. He loved his bosses. They treated him nice,” his dad explained, describing Jared as, “just a very gentle spirt and always a grin on his face. Every picture you take, always a grin on his face.”

In an online fundraising page, two other victims have also been identified. They are brothers Patrick and Eric Stemmer. Their family owns Stemmer Construction which was involved in building the highrise.

The developer said the crane suddenly collapsed while in the process of being dismantled.

Larrabie Beckholt witnessed the collapse from his nearby apartment balcony.

“All of a sudden there was this terrible grinding ugly noise which made me look up and I saw the horizontal portion of the crane starting to tip…you’re not really believing what you’re seeing,” Beckholt said.

Steven Zook and the large family that Jared was a part of are trying to understand how the accident could have happened.

“It’s wrong. Something is wrong. It should have never have happened. These are dismantled all the time. It just doesn’t happen,” he said.

Jared’s family, crying and hugging one another at the accident site, told CTV they are dealing with their grief one day at a time.

“We have a faith that we’re going to see him again one day and that’s the only thing that keeps us moving ahead,” Steven Zook said.