The mother of a 19-year-old man killed in a construction accident in Saskatoon says her son always wanted to see others smile.
Rebeccah McFarland posted a photo of her son, Austyn Schenstead, to Facebook Wednesday, hours after he was killed while working on a city sound wall in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood.
“As many of our friends & family have heard, today was the hardest day our family has ever endured,” she wrote. “Austyn passed away unexpectedly this morning.”
Schenstead was killed after a large piece of concrete fell off a truck and onto him in an alley on the 300 block of Tache Crescent, according to police.
Emergency crews were called to the area at about 8:30 a.m. Schenstead was pronounced dead at the scene.
“He truly did make my world a better place,” his mother wrote. “To those that worked with Austyn today- you are in my thoughts and prayers. I can’t imagine.”
Her son was a prankster, loved his family and was always there for his friends, she wrote.
“His friends and family were everything to him.”
A coroner and occupational health and safety officials are investigating the death. The City of Saskatoon is also conducting a reviewing.
The work on the sound wall is contracted to a private company, according to city manager Murray Totland.
A GoFundMe page has since been set up to raise money for Schenstead’s family.
