(CHATSWORTH, ON) – Grey County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) report motor vehicle collisions dominated calls for service this week as a result of winter storm events that hit the area, resulting in numerous road closures.
Between Tuesday, January 28, 2014 (8:00 a.m.) and Friday, January 31, 2014 (12:00 noon), of the 133 calls for service, Grey County OPP investigated 52 motor vehicle collisions and 6 reports of abandoned vehicles. The majority of collisions involved property damage only. Those reporting injuries were minor in nature.
In one case, the driver of a Pontiac vehicle travelling eastbound on Hwy. 26 lost control of the vehicle in a whiteout condition west of Grey Rd. 12 in the Municipality of Meaford and collided with a snowbank. The front end of the vehicle was in the live portion of the eastbound lane. The passenger exited the vehicle. The driver was about to exit the vehicle when it was struck by an eastbound tractor trailer. The passenger was thrown into the snowbank. The driver was extricated from the vehicle by the Meaford Fire Department. Several off duty military personnel assisted at the scene. Miraculously, the driver and passenger in the vehicle received only minor injuries.
A head-on collision occurred between a car and a propane truck on Hwy. 10 just north of Dundalk just before 5:00 p.m. last night. The propane tank suffered a minor leak resulting in two homes in the area to be evacuated as a precaution. The Dundalk Fire Department and Sparlings Propane attended the scene. The 27 year old female driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Her 4 year old son was not injured. Nor was the driver of the propane tanker
Six motorists have been charged with driving on a closed road. The penalty for driving on a closed road is a $110. fine and 3 demerit points, but the consequences can be much worse if you become involved in a collision or are stranded in a whiteout.
