A truck driver is lucky to be alive after a massive beam crushed his cab and missed him by mere inches in an accident at a Coquitlam shopping centre Friday morning.

It appears the vehicle did not lower its bin as it drove by a steel and masonry beam at the entrance to a loading area near the west entrance of the mall, said Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart.

“I gather he started moving forward. He struck an overhead beam. The beam fell forward on top of the cab,” Stewart said.

Stewart is calling for tougher safety standards for trucks, pointing out that a similar accident occurred eight years ago barely a kilometer away.

“I would like authorities to examine whether we need to change the regulations to prevent garbage trucks from moving forward in the upright position,” he said.

WorkSafeBC is investigating, but said preliminary results show the Smithrite garbage truck knocked the beam loose while the vehicle was repositioning during a stop to pick up garbage at about 8:30 am at Coquitlam Centre.

The cab was destroyed, but somehow the driver survived. He was able to call 911 himself.

“The patient was conscious and talking the whole time,” said Coquitlam Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Greg Mayberry.

He’s now in hospital with serious injuries.

“I think we got extremely lucky today. Tomorrow he will realize how lucky he was,” said Stewart.

It’s not the first time Coquitlam has seen an incident involving a truck and a beam – another similar crash occurred on the Lougheed Highway only about a kilometer away in 2005.

In that case, the garbage truck forks lifted, and the crash caused a concrete walkway to come crashing down, killing the driver.

An investigation by WorkSafe BC found the crash was caused by a combination of driver fatigue, an unfamiliar truck, but also a lack of safety warning devices that would warn the driver of potential danger.

“The applicable standard required either an audible or a visual alarm or both to warn the driver if the box became elevated during travel,” the investigation report says.

All new trucks are required to have the device, but it’s not clear if older trucks are required to be retrofitted.

Smithrite didn’t respond to requests for comment by Friday evening.