The operator of an excavator that ran over a flagman says he believed the man was out of harm's way.

The accident happened in May 2009 on the Holyrood Access Road.

The operator, Eugene Cole, told court Wednesday he checked and saw the flagman possibly within seconds — but no more than a minute — before he moved the excavator.

Eugene Cole was the operator of an excavator that ran over a flagman in 2009. (CBC)

Cole, who had 30 years' work experience, also said warning alarms on his machine went off the instant he touched the gear shift to start moving.

He testified he had warned the flagman earlier that same week about getting too close to the machine.

The victim, 57-year-old Tom Connors, was crushed under the excavator. The company involved, Concord Paving Limited, is on trial facing six violations of provincial safety guidelines.

Cole previously told the court he didn't know anything had happened until the truck driver on the job, Misty Bradbury, came up to him yelling that a flagperson was under a track of the machine.

Cole said he used the excavator's bucket to lift the track off Connors.

"I jumped out to check his vital signs and there was no pulse," Cole said. "The boss came up and I walked away. It was kind of a shock."

Bradbury wasn't aware anything had happened until several motorcyclists yelled to her that someone was under the excavator.

On the stand Tuesday, Bradbury said she had earlier told Connors he was getting too close to the equipment.

Under cross-examination, the company's lawyer, John Babb, pushed the point: "You mentioned you told him he was too close?"

"Yes," she replied.

Another flagperson on the job site, Delphine Mugford, also testified that on the day of the accident, she told Connors that he was too close to the dump truck.

Mugford said Connors acknowledged the warning, and she felt there was no need to report the matter to her supervisor.