Close X
Saturday, January 25, 2025
ADVT 
National

Two Dead After Via Train Collides With Vehicle East Of Chatham, Ont.

The Canadian Press, 05 Apr, 2016 10:36 AM
    SOUTHWEST MIDDLESEX, Ont. — Two women have died after a passenger train collided with a car just east of Chatham, Ont.
     
    Via Rail says one of its passenger trains was travelling from Windsor to Toronto when it crashed into a car at a rail crossing on Melbourne Road shortly before 11 a.m. Monday.
     
    Ontario Provincial Police say the 39-year-old driver and her 37-year-old female passenger — both from Strathroy, Ont. — were killed, while one Via passenger suffered minor injuries.
     
    The Transportation Safety Board is now probing the collision, which police say took place at a clearly marked crossing under normal weather conditions.
     
    Via Rail says no other trains have been impacted by the collision.
     
    Police are continuing to investigate the crash, which caused extensive front-end damage to the train and flung the car about 200 metres from the point of impact.
     
    OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor says the investigation is still in its early stages.
     
    "It's just one of these situations where we're all left wondering, 'How did this happen and why did it happen,'" Rektor said in a telephone interview. "Hopefully we'll find those answers. Right now unfortunately, we have more questions than answers.
     
    POLICE URGE CAUTION AT RAILWAY CROSSINGS AFTER DEADLY CRASH BETWEEN TRAIN, CAR
     
    SOUTHWEST MIDDLESEX, Ont. — Police are urging motorists to exert caution at railway crossings as they investigate a crash between a car and a passenger train which killed two women in southwestern Ontario.
     
    The collision took place just before 11 a.m. on Monday at a clearly marked railway crossing east of Chatham, Ont, in what police described as normal weather conditions.
     
    Such crashes, an Ontario Provincial Police spokesman said, are not out of the ordinary.
     
    "We see these crashes happen periodically and the bottom line is either (drivers) are complacent or they're not paying attention," said Sgt. David Rektor.
     
    Monday's crash saw a Via Rail train carrying 80 passengers plow into a grey Ford at a railway crossing that was marked with fully functioning lights, although it did not have crossing arms.
     
    "It's a perfect level crossing. Visibility for at least a kilometre in each direction," said Rektor. "Everything was working properly. The (train's) warning horn was activated."
     
    The crash flung the car some 200 metres into a ditch and also damaged the front end of the train.
     
     
    "The car was completely destroyed," said Rektor. "The damage to the train was significant as well."
     
    The 39-year-old driver of the car, identified Tuesday as Eunhwa Ahn, and her 37-year-old passenger, Gyujin Shon, both from Strathroy Caradoc, Ont., were pronounced dead at the scene.
     
    A passenger on the train suffered minor injuries but didn't need medical attention, police said. The train, which was travelling from Windsor to Toronto, was able to continue on to its destination after about four hours.
     
    While the collision is still under investigation, Rektor said it highlighted the need for motorists to pay attention at railway crossings.
     
    "I was at that location a couple of years ago for a very similar crash involving a fatality," he said. "I've seen a lot of level crossing crashes and it's continually driver error that leads to it."
     
    It's hardly ever a case of a car getting stuck on the tracks, Rektor said, but rather a situation in which a driver believes they can make it across before the train arrives.
     
    "You get the train coming at 100 kilometres per hour, they're big, it looks like it's moving slow but it's coming at highway speed or faster," he said. "You can't outrun these trains."
     
    Trains also take time to stop, Rektor noted, making it hard for engineers to avoid crashing into vehicles at crossings even if they see them up ahead.
     
    The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the circumstances of Monday's crash.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Ontario Professor's Family May Have To Leave Country Over Son's Down Syndrome

    Ontario Professor's Family May Have To Leave Country Over Son's Down Syndrome
    An Ontario university professor who has applied for permanent residency in Canada is facing the prospect of having to leave the country because his son has Down Syndrome.  

    Ontario Professor's Family May Have To Leave Country Over Son's Down Syndrome

    Two Winning Tickets For $7-Million Jackpot In Saturday's Lotto 6-49

    Two Winning Tickets For $7-Million Jackpot In Saturday's Lotto 6-49
    One ticket was bought in Ontario, and the other was sold in British Columbia

    Two Winning Tickets For $7-Million Jackpot In Saturday's Lotto 6-49

    Newly-Arrived Family Of Alan Kurdi Embraces Canadian Culture Through Hockey

    Newly-Arrived Family Of Alan Kurdi Embraces Canadian Culture Through Hockey
    The 15-year-old is the cousin of Alan Kurdi, the two-year-old boy who became a symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis when his lifeless body was photographed on a Turkish beach last September.

    Newly-Arrived Family Of Alan Kurdi Embraces Canadian Culture Through Hockey

    The Deficit Dive: Liberals Will Try To Sell Bigger Shortfalls As Key To Growth

    The political messaging that will weave through Justin Trudeau's first budget is poised to have a recognizable ring to it: reducing inequality while laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth

    The Deficit Dive: Liberals Will Try To Sell Bigger Shortfalls As Key To Growth

    Liberals Face Decisions On Navy's $104 Billion Frigate Replacement Program

    Liberals Face Decisions On Navy's $104 Billion Frigate Replacement Program
    The federal cabinet will soon be asked to make an initial down payment on the navy's $104-billion frigate replacement program with an approval that will lay the groundwork for the new fleet, The Canadian Press has learned

    Liberals Face Decisions On Navy's $104 Billion Frigate Replacement Program

    Tensions High During Quebec's Environmental Hearings Into Energy East Pipeline

    As Luc Villeneuve begins talking to a reporter about his renewable energy foundation, he is abruptly interrupted outside the conference room where public hearings on Energy East are taking place.

    Tensions High During Quebec's Environmental Hearings Into Energy East Pipeline