The Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board has released its preliminary findings into the death of an Integra Tire employee who died after being crushed under a transport truck.

Denis Chabot, had been putting slits in the tri-axle vehicle's tires to give it better traction on ice and snow on the afternoon of Nov. 15.

"He had completed the work, he went and told his supervisor that the vehicle was ready for pick-up and he was going to go out and do a final check on the vehicle before the owner came and picked it up,” Kurt Dieckmann, the director of occupational health and safety, told a media briefing held Thursday afternoon.

The vehicle owner, North 60 Petro, was notified that the truck was ready for pick-up.

"A worker from North 60 arrived, found the vehicle idling, climbed into the vehicle and drove it away,” Dieckmann said.

"When the vehicle drove away, Denis Chabot was partially under the vehicle and suffered fatal crush injuries when the vehicle moved.”

Dieckmann said the 34-year-old appeared to be under the passenger side of the truck and that the driver, who hasn't been publicly named, stopped when he saw Chabot's body in his rearview mirror.

The tire shop worker was pronounced dead at Whitehorse General Hospital.

A man who loved the outdoors, Chabot came to the Yukon about 10 years ago from his home in Sherbrooke, in Quebec's Eastern Townships.

Others have remembered him as a good friend with an easy smile and a passion for his work.

"Every single (death) is in our view preventable, and is one too many,” said Valerie Royle, the board's president and CEO .

Dieckmann said the investigation is ongoing. He would not comment on whether charges are expected to be laid.

"Until we know everything that happened and have a very clear picture of responsibilities and the indirect causes, we won't speak about whether charges will be contemplated.”

A number of other details, including the driver's age, experience level and the length of time between Chabot's conversation with his supervisor and his death, were not released Thursday.

The board's final report is expected to be completed in the next few months.

Yukon law requires anyone putting machinery into motion to do an inspection, including walking around the vehicle.

Those working on machinery must ensure the machine is locked down and cannot be operated until the work is completed, Dieckmann said.

"It's certainly not something that's expected in the workplace and we hope that by realeasing these preliminary findings that we can prevent something like this from happening in another Yukon workplace,” Royle said.

Dieckmann said Integra Tire has made improvements to its safety policy following the tragedy.

He encourages all businesses to do risk assessments of the various hazards that may be in the workplace.

Employees at both Integra Tire and North 60 are co-operating with the investigation and have been offered support in dealing with the trauma.

"When anything happens at a workplace, the ripple effect is far-reaching. It isn't just the individuals who are directly involved,” Dieckmann said.

"Whether it's a fatality or a serious injury, there are far-reaching consequences that most people don't ever consider because it's ‘not going to happen to me.'”

In 2011, there were 1,780 reports of injuries on the job filed in the territory — a 13 per cent increase over 2010.

Last year's workforce was 11 per cent larger than the year before.

"That increase in the workforce is concentrated in our high-rise industries in mining and mining-related construction,” Royle said. "We think our lost time per injury rate will be about the same as 2010.”

Chabot's death was one of four fatalities in 2011 being investigated by the board.

Last March, Bradley Chambers, 34, of Duncan, B.C., was killed when the plane he was flying crashed about 65 kilometres northeast of Mayo.

The board also investigated the July 6 death of then-NDP MLA Steve Cardiff, who died in a highway collision south of Whitehorse while travelling for work.

Lastly, the board continues to investigate the death of former Tagish fire chief Kurt Gantner, who died on his way to the scene of a house fire last August.

With those four deaths, the territory's fatality rate is about one in 5,000 employees.

The Yukon's fatality rate is generally the highest in Canada, Royle said.

Last year, the territory was topped only by the Northwest Territories/Nunavut, where there were 17 fatalities, mostly from four plane crashes.

"Unfortunately, it's a place where we're a leader where we would like to be last,” she said.

The board recently hired three additional safety officers to monitor workplaces, bringing the total to seven.

Most of the officers are based in Whitehorse, with one stationed in Dawson City during the summer months.

As for what leads to the territory's high fatality rate, Royle said that's not obvious.

"Statistically, we are so small that it's hard to make judgments on things like that,” she said. "But that's not something you can tell those four families.”

Integra Tire owner Cal Murdoch said he will not comment on the case until the final report is complete.

The Star's calls to North 60 were not returned in time for this afternoon's deadline.