PEDESTRIANS INJURED IN MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION
(CHAMPLAIN, ON) – On Friday January 06, 2017 shortly after 6:00 p.m., officers from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Hawkesbury detachment, Prescott-Russell Paramedics, Champlain Fire Department and OPP Technical Traffic Collision Investigators (TTCI), responded to a collision on Highway 34 between Aberdeen and Ridge Road, south of Vankleek Hill in Champlain Township, involving five (5) vehicles and three (3) pedestrians.
Investigation revealed that a black Saab was northbound on Highway 34 when its driver initiated a U-turn maneuver, resulting in a southbound Mercedes to collide with the black Saab’s passenger side. The collision resulted in minor injuries to both drivers; however the black Saab was now disabled on the southbound lane.
As the occupants had exited their vehicles and were getting assistance from stopped motorists and nearby residents, a white Freightliner commercial vehicle traveling south on Highway 34 collided with the disabled black Saab. The Saab vehicle was pushed onto the southbound shoulder, striking several pedestrians and a parked vehicle belonging to one of the stopped motorists. Meanwhile, the white Freightliner continued southbound and struck a parked vehicle belonging to the nearby residents. The Freightliner then rolled onto its side and came to rest in the southbound ditch.
Three pedestrians and three vehicle drivers were transported to hospitals for non-life threatening injuries. They were later released from the hospitals but one of the pedestrians remained as a result of more serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Highway 34 remained closed for several hours.
The black Saab’s driver, 57-year-old female of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec will face charges; however none have been laid at this time.