Friday, January 18, 2008

MINOR INJURIES IN SNOW PLOW – TRANSPORT CRASH

(Laird Twp, Ont.) The driver of a snow plow received minor injuries yesterday after his plow flipped over after being struck by a transport.

At about 7:30 a.m. yesterday morning the plow operator was traveling east bound on Hwy 17 near Town Line Road in Laird Township. The operator was using a special plow that has a wing on the left side of the truck and is used to clear the left lane and left shoulder of the four lane section. The plow operator was traveling at slow speed with all its lights flashing.

An eastbound transport truck caught up to the plow and attempted to pass the plow on the left. The transport struck the wing of the plow and sent the plow into a spin. The plow spun around on the highway, went off the roadway and rolled over. The transport went off the roadway and into the ditch.

The driver of the plow was sent to Matthew’s Memorial Hospital by ambulance with back and neck injuries. The driver of the transport has been charged under the Highway Traffic Act. Forty four (44) year old Manning BERGSFORD of Lively Ontario has been charged with Making an Unsafe Lane Change.

Hwy 17 at this crash site was closed on several occasions during the day to assist in the removal of the plow and transport

AND JUST WHAT IS YOUR HURRY ???

(Laird Twp, Ont.) Four people were charged with driving the wrong way on the four lane section of Hwy 17 in Laird Township yesterday.

OPP officers and removal crews spent the entire day at the scene of the transport and snow plow crash. On several occasions officers shut down the eastbound section of Hwy 17 near Town Line Road in order to get the snow plow and transport out of the ditch.

Some motorists didn’t feel like waiting for the roadway to re-open and decided to turn around and drive the wrong way on Hwy 17 back to Neebish Road. Officers charged four people under the Highway Traffic Act with driving the wrong way on the highway. In once case the officer watched one vehicle travel the wrong way on the shoulder of the highway because traffic was coming down the roadway.

TRANSPORT REMOVED FROM HWY 17 IN BATCHAWNA

Batchawana Bay, Ont.,

A transport that blocked one lane of Hwy 17 in Batchawana Bay yesterday has been removed overnight.’

Yesterday just after 12:00 noon a transport loaded with steel pipe was traveling northbound on Hwy 17 just past the Batchawana River Bridge. The truck rounded a curve in the roadway and jackknifed. The truck slid across the southbound lane and into the southbound ditch. No one was injured in the crash. There was light to moderate snow falling in the area at the time.

The truck was removed from the roadway just before midnight last night. No charges have been laid in this crash.

EXPECT EXTENDED TRAFFIC DELAYS IN BATCHAWANA

(Batchawana Bay, Ont.) Sault Ste Marie OPP are advising motorists to expect long traffic delays on Hwy 17 north of Sault Ste Marie in the Batchawana Bay area.

Just after 12:00 noon today a north bound tractor trailer loaded with steel pipes jackknifed and went off the roadway. The wreck is blocking the south bound lane of Hwy 17. The north bound lane remains open and police are on the scene directing traffic.

Removal of the transport is expected to last well through the night and into the early morning hours of Friday. Police expect that it will be necessary to close the highway at that location for several hours in order to facilitate the removal of the wreck. The collision site is located on Hwy 17 about 500 meters north of the Batchawana River Bridge.

Anyone traveling Hwy 17 in Batchawana should expect long delays at the collision site.

No one was injured in this crash and the truck does have major damage. The truck and the trailer will have to be towed from the scene. Further details will be available tomorrow morning