The Leader, Eganville, Ontario - February 13, 2019
117th Year - No. 34
Postal Agreement # 40005333
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Page A1
Eganville, Ontario
($1.90 plus 10 cents GST)
$2
Severe white-outs close local highways
Operators and passengers of the multi-vehicle crash on Highway 41 near Lakeview Drive at Lake Dore get a glimpse of the damage during a pause in the high winds Friday afternoon. Seven vehicles were involved in the collision which happened when a tractor trailer slowed due to zero visibility, setting off a chain reaction. It was one of six crashes in this three km section of highway that runs along the lake. For more, see page A2.
20-plus crashes reported during Friday’s high winds By Leader Staff Pembroke -- The winter of 2019 will go down in the history books as being one of the worst for conditions in many decades. Record snowfalls, record cold temperatures, record weather advisories, a record number of school bus cancellations due to cold weather have been common since the beginning of the year. But last Friday’s conditions locally will also long be remembered as high winds and blowing snow were responsible for multi-vehicle collisions that sent several people to hospital and caused extensive damage to a number of vehicles, and blinding driving conditions forced the closure of at least three local highways. The worst areas were along Highway 41 at Lake Dore where up to six crashes, one a multi-vehicle collision, closed the highway for about eight hours, and along Highway 17 west and east of Cobden where
blowing snow in open areas reduced visibility to near zero. It was all hands on deck for Renfrew County Paramedics and provincial police officers, especially those working out of the Upper Ottawa Valley detachment. With more than 20 collisions reported throughout the afternoon, officers from Killaloe helped out with the multi-vehicle crash at Lake Dore, just north of Lakeview Drive. A strong west wind, estimated at about 80 km/hr., blew snow across the lake and across the highway, reducing visibility to zero. Thankfully, no serious injuries were reported from all the incidents that included a seven-vehicle collision at Highway 41 near Shaw Woods Road that involved a tractor trailer, five passenger vehicles, and a military truck from Garrison Petawawa. “There were two, three-vehicle and
one four-vehicle as well in the same area all around that same afternoon time frame,” Const Shawn Peever, Media Relations Officer at UOV, reported. In the multi-vehicle collision, the report indicates the tractor-trailer slowed due to poor visibility and was rear-ended by a Jeep. A third vehicle tried to avoid the crash and was struck by another vehicle. A fifth vehicle turned to avoid the crash and was rear-ended by another vehicle, and then the military truck entered the ditch to avoid the crash. Five people with minor injuries were transported to hospital by County of Renfrew paramedics who literally drove upon crash scenes, checked for injuries and then proceeded to the other crashes if their services were not required. The three occupants of the military vehicle were taken to the Rankin Culture and Recreation Centre by
ambulance to await a ride back to Petawawa. In another incident, a North Algona Wilberforce fire truck was involved in a minor crash when it struck a small car that was stopped in the blinding conditions. The car was then shoved into the rear of a pickup truck pulling a utility trailer. It was the second time the driver of the pick-up had been rear-ended in less than an hour. He was also struck from behind while heading northbound towards Pembroke. The fire truck was responding slowly to the multivehicle crash. The two main locations for the majority of the crashes were Highway 41 along the section of roadway that runs along Lake Dore, and on Highway 17, between Eldon and Poff roads area, west of Cobden. There were no serious injuries reported in any of the collisions. “To have 20 motor vehicle collisions
on one day is next to unheard of,” Const. Peever remarked. “I’ve only heard of one other day since I’ve been doing media when there were more. “The open areas, the visibility was going to almost zero,” he added. Of the 20 incidents UOV officers responded to, eight were in the Highway 41 corridor between Micksburg Road and Shaw Woods Road, and six were on Highway 17, west of Cobden. There were other calls to Petawawa Boulevard, International Drive and in parking lots at the malls in Pembroke. Officers at the Renfrew detachment were also quite busy, responding to 10 crashes that included three on Hwy. 17 between Cobden and Renfrew, two on the Queen’s Line, one on Cobden Road between Cobden and Kelly’s Corners and one on Hwy. 60. Officers also responded to incidents on Snake River Line and O’Brien Road. Const. Tina Hunt, media relations
officer at Renfrew, said most of the incidents were single or two-vehicle collisions, adding any injuries reported were minor in nature. In the Killaloe detachment coverage area, officers responded to five MVCs, including a two-vehicle crash on Highway 28 at Hardwood Lake Friday morning and to four other single-vehicle incidents throughout the day and into the evening. The other incidents were located at Harrington Road in Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Township, Spring Creek Road in Bonnechere Valley (BV) Township, Scotch Bush Road, also in BV, and Lake Dore Road in North Algona Wilberforce. All reports other than the Hardwood Lake incident were single-vehicle crashes and there were no injuries reported in any of the collisions. Two officers from Killaloe also assisted the UOV officers at the crashes on Highway 41 at Lake Dore.
an investigating police officer, one of the trademarks of the robberies was a trail of vandalism and destruction of property along the way. Renfrew Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Detective-Constable Mark Yarmel spent the majority of the day on the stand and recounted the
vandalism he saw at some of the residences he attended on August 24, 2017. These were some of the several residences and businesses broken into and vandalized over several months throughout the Ottawa Valley that summer and fall, including the community-run Dacre and Area Com-
munity Association (DACA) centre. The accused, brothers Brandon and Jacob Thomson, aged 31 and 23, respectively, their 22-year-old sister Alicia, and 26-year-old Andrew MacDonald were all present in the Ontario Court of Justice and for the most part kept their heads down and
stared at the floor while the officer went into great detail of what he saw at three separate crime scenes on Hass Road in Admaston/Bromley Township. “The first scene I attended was a hunt camp and all the windows were smashed and there was spray paint
all over the walls and that included the shape of penises,” he told Assistant Crown Attorney Terri James. “The walls were covered in paint and the place was completely ransacked and there was food and other items thrown all over the floor.” See Page A6
Testimony in break and enter trial highlights senseless vandalism By R. Bruce McIntyre
Staff Writer Pembroke -- The trial of four Renfrew area individuals charged with 56 offences including break and enter, possession of stolen firearms and a host of others resumed on Monday and according to testimony given by