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Vol.16 No. 19
The
VOICE
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Proud to be
The Voice of Pelham
for 15 years
Celebrating our 15th anniversary in print
Violent accident touches community of Pelham BY SARAH MURRELL VOICE Staff A violent car accident on Regional Rd. 20 last week has left three people dead, another seriously injured and touched this small community in a significant way. Town of Pelham employee Nancy Yungblut and her husband Jim, a long time Thorold firefighter, were on their way home from a trip in Western Canada with friends, Sam and Art Turner, when their SUV collided with a car headon. The car, travelling westbound on Regional Road 20 just East of Victoria Ave. “appears” to have veered across the centre-line colliding with the front corner of the Yungblut vehicle, says Fire Chief Jim Phelps. The car careened across the road and burst into flames, he added. Art Turner got out of the SUV and pulled one of the people in the car to safety but three other people in the car did not make it out and died at the scene. The car, said Phelps,
was a “fire-ball” when firefighters arrived on scene. Firefighter Otto Heinrich, who was on the lead truck responding to the accident, said the car was “totally involved” when firefighters arrived. He also noted emergency responders were told only one person was in the car and no one else was inside. That information was incorrect, they later learned, but Heinrich said it wouldn’t have made a difference because of the size of the fire at the time. “The car was destroyed,” he added, noting he thinks the three occupants may have died in the collision, rather than the fire. “There was absolutely nothing we could do,” he said. Because of that, firefighters turned their attention to the SUV and Jim and Nancy Yungblut and Art and Sam Turner. Training kicked in, he said, as firefighters worked to extricate Jim from the wreck. “He was in there,” said Heinrich, noting the collision was on Jim’s side of the car. “It was a little challenging, but we got
‘em out.” Nancy was treated at Welland Hospital and released later on Friday. Jim was taken to Welland Hospital with serious injuries and later airlifted to Hamilton for further medical treatment. Three other people were treated at Welland Hospital for serious injuries. “Everyone’s doing okay,” said Jeff Yungblut. “Mom’s banged and bruised and battered but recovering nicely.” Jeff noted his dad had back surgery on Saturday and had his elbow “fixed up”. Along with the spine injury and what Jeff described as a hole in his elbow, Jim also suffered a broken tibia, a broken rib and four broken toes and is also banged and battered. “We’re fortunate he’s still here,” said Jeff. “We thank our lucky stars.” Jim is expected to make a full recovery, said Jeff, noting the spine surgery went perfectly and doctors say if it wasn’t for his other injuries he’d be walking out of the hospital this week. Beyond the physical
injuries, Jeff says his parents will have some other healing to do as well, noting as a 47-year volunteer firefighter his father was hard-hit by the fact that he couldn’t help the victims in the other car.
“We’re fortunate he’s still here,” - Jeff Yungblut
“He felt bad,” said Jeff of having to watch the car burn from inside his wrecked SUV. “There was nothing he could do.” It took firefighters 45 minutes to extricate his dad, said Jeff. For the first time in his life, said Jeff, his father needed help instead of being the one to come to the rescue. While Jeff and the Yungblut family are thankful Jim will, in time, recover from the accident, Jeff says they think of the other families and what they are going through.
On Monday, July 16 police released the identities of two of the men who died in the accident: 24 year old Justin Morin and 20 year old Dennis Falletta, both from Smithville. At the request of the family, the identity of the third victim will not be released. Due to the seriousness of the accident, which happened just after 1 a.m. on July 13, Regional Road 20 was closed in the area until late Friday morning. Phelps noted Pelham Firefighters were called back to the accident scene twice on Friday morning, once to help tarp the burned car for transport to the Niagara Regional Police yard and a second time to wash down the highway which was covered in oil and debris. “I’ve talked to all the guys to make sure they’re okay,” says Phelps, referring to the traumatic scene they would have witnessed as three people perished in the car. Along with Pelham fire, Niagara Regional Police Service, Niagara EMS, and Thorold Fire Department responded to the scene of the accident.
The Niagara Regional Police Service Traffic Reconstruction Unit investigated the accident most of the day Friday and were expected to continue their investigation throughout the weekend. Staff Sergeant Darren Forbes with the traffic division told The Voice Monday morning that the accident is still under investigation, noting the officers had been busy responding to collisions throughout the weekend and Monday was the first day they had an opportunity to continue their investigation. “There are still lots of people to talk to and interview,” he said. Police are still waiting on toxicology reports to determine if alcohol was a factor, he said, adding the same is true for speeding. The vehicle examinations were taking place on Monday, he said, noting there are a number of steps to go through in investigating the accident. Anyone who may have witnessed this accident is asked to contact the Niagara Regional Police Service Traffic Unit at 905688-4111 ext 5500.
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