Source: St. Catharines Standard
ONTARIO - Nearly every morning, east St. Catharines resident John Bilewicz laces up his sneakers and goes for a stroll along the Welland Canal.
But on Thursday morning, Bilewicz's typically pleasant trek had a more sombre air.
Hours earlier, at about 9:20 p. m. on Wednesday, a southbound black Buick Century went careening off the Welland Canals Parkway just north of Scott Street and plunged into the canal between Locks 1 and 2.
The body of a 71-year-old Grimsby man was pulled from the black waters by a police dive and recovery team early Thursday morning.
His distraught family has asked police not to release his name.
On Thursday, only fresh, muddy tracks in the grass remained from where a crane pulled the car out of the eight-metre deep water at 4:16 a. m.
That's where Bilewicz, who heard about the crash on the morning news, stopped to have a look.
"I couldn't understand how that happened," said Bilewicz, 85, shaking his head while standing along the popular section of trail that has no fence.
"It's a straight road here. If there was a turn, it would be understandable."
Det. Sgt. Cliff Priest, who heads the Niagara Regional Police collision reconstruction unit, said officers are still investigating the incident and examining all possible causes.
"It's so early into the investigation," Priest said.
"My officers are looking at every aspect. We're doing mechanicals on the vehicle and stuff like that."
A post-mortem is being conducted on the man's body to see if medical conditions were a factor, Priest said.
Cases of cars going into the canal with a driver at the wheel are very rare, said Andrew Bogora, a spokesman for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.
Once in a while, empty cars are pushed into the canal and are found when it is drained for the winter, he said.
Public safety concerning the canal is the joint responsibility of the Seaway commission and the regional and municipal governments that border it, Bogora said.
The City of St. Catharines owns the Welland Canals Parkway, but the Seaway owns property directly adjacent to the canal.
The Seaway is waiting for the police report to see what caused the crash before taking any action, he said.
City transportation manager Kris Jacobson said the section of Welland Canals Parkway between Scott Street and Linwell Road has never been identified as a safety concern.
"It's a fairly straight stretch of road with a fairly wide area from where the road is to where the canal is," Jacobson said.
Priest said he's investigated a few canal crashes in the last 14 years, but none near Lock 2.
Several sections of the canal now have security fencing, making it difficult for motorists to land in the canal, he said.
"There are spots where if you lose control for some reason or another, you can still end up in the canal."
Source: Hamilton Spectator
Grimsby man dies in Welland Canal plunge, Drove into water in Welland Wednesday night
ONTARIO - A Grimsby man is dead after a car plunged into the Welland Canal last night
Niagara police said this morning the car drove into the canal at 9:20 p.m. between Locks 1 and 2 in St. Catharines.
Witnesses called 911 and Niagara police divers found the submerged vehicle.
A heavy crane borrowed from the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority was used to raise the vehicle and the man’s body recovered later in the night. There were no other occupants of the car.
Niagara police have not released to man’s name.
The crash is being investigated by the Niagara police collision reconstruction unit and any have been asked to call 905-688-4111, extension 5500.
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