A logging accident has claimed the life of a 53-year-old British Columbia man just two months after he was reunited with his autistic son and his mother was arrested in the U.S.
Danny Dimm's five-year-old son Timber was returned to him in August after years of legal wrangling with the boy's mother, a U.S. citizen who had moved their child to Minnesota.
She was arrested on accusations of abducting the boy and failing to meet the terms of a custody agreement in which Mr. Dimm had visiting rights.
RCMP Sgt. Fran Bethell said Mr. Dimm was killed Monday while he and another man were clearing trees on a property south of Lillooet, 113 kilometres west of Kamloops.
"Unfortunately around 10 a.m. there was an accident involving a loader and Mr. Dimm was killed instantly when a heavy piece of equipment fell on him," she said.
Mr. Dimm's sister Jewel-Ann Juriansz said it's too soon to tell what will happen to Timber.
"I wasn't privy to all of Danny's workings, you see, in this matter. I have to sit down with people and figure out where things are," she said.
She said her brother not only went through a custody battle — fighting for the rights of single dads — but also sought funding to help care for his son's autism, and that issue still needs to be sorted out.
"We obviously need funding and funding for care," she said, adding that she lives in Toronto.
Lawyer Theresa Gerlach, who helped Dimm regain custody of his son, said Mr. Dimm wanted to do the right thing for Timber.
"He was always focused on what was best for his son. He wanted his child safe, he wanted to give his child a normal upbringing," she said.
Timber's mother remains jailed in Minnesota.