Engineer charged in connection with Elliot Lake mall collapse

Criminal charges have been laid against a former engineer in connection with the fatal roof collapse of the Elliot Lake shopping mall.

In a brief news conference this morning, the Ontario Provincial Police announced that Robert G.H. Wood, 64, has been charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. His first court appearance is scheduled for March 25.

Wood was the last person to conduct a structural inspection of the doomed mall—concluding just ten weeks before the collapse that the building was “structurally sound.” Though a respected engineer for four decades, Wood was not licensed at the time of the inspection; his credentials had been revoked the previous year because of the “professional misconduct” he displayed on an unrelated job.

Last year, the Ontario Ministry of Labour filed its own provincial offences charges against Wood, including one count of “providing negligent advice.”

More to come.

Related link: One Step from Death: An interactive look at the day the mall came down.