(Georgian Bay Township)- Members of the Southern Georgian Bay Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) wish to thank those motorists last week who changed their travel plans so as to let the blizzard that pounded local roadways pass.
Emergency Services made up of Police, Fire Services, Paramedic Services were tasked with numerous calls for all types of calls for service but mostly roadway related while Provincial, County and Municipal snow clearing road crews tried their best to keep roadways clear before being pulled off the roads as a safety precaution.
During the 24 hour period of January 7, 2014 OPP officers from Southern Georgian Bay Detachment responded to 14 calls for service for vehicles stuck/immobilized on local roadways along with 25 reported crashes. 3 of those crashes involved OPP vehicles one of which was written off after being struck by a tractor trailer on Highway 400 near Port Severn and the officer was taken to Georgian Bay General Hospital for observation and released.
Sadly, there was a serious personal injury vehicle/pedestrian crash on Highway 12 east of Talbot Street in Tay Township. At 11:09am January 7, 2014 a 73 year old woman from Victoria Harbour was struck by an east bound car when she exited her vehicle after becoming stuck in the ditch. The woman was transported after being treated at the scene for life threatening injuries by Simcoe County Paramedics to Georgian Bay General Hospital. After being stabilized by Emergency Response Doctors she was transported to a Toronto area hospital for further specialized treatment by Simcoe County Paramedics as Ornge was unable to land due to the extreme weather conditions.
In the interest of road safety, motorists are reminded to follow local radio & television stations, monitor e-mail or websites such as www.ontario.ca/trip and social media to stay aware of changing winter road conditions and to limit travel to essential trips in poor weather.