Source: Ottawa Citizen
ONTARIO - Michael Bennett was on his way home Saturday night from visiting his grandfather in hospital when he was killed in a car crash.
He watched the Toronto Maple Leafs game with his grandfather who has been in Pembroke Regional Hospital for a few weeks.
“Every parent’s nightmare is their kid was out partying, out drinking, but he was coming home from the hospital,” his mother Kathy Bennett said Monday. “Our message to kids is wear that seat belt.” (Thank you, Mrs. Bennett, for making that statement at this sad, sad time for you. I believe that your son Michael is still proud of his mom for making it - Peter)
Bennett, 18, was ejected after the car he was driving hit the ditch, flipped and landed on its roof in the centre of the road.
The Ontario Provincial Police said Bennett was driving north on Drive-in Road in Laurentian Valley Township. The cause of the crash hasn’t been determined, police said.
Bennett left the hospital just before 9 p.m. in his sister’s Pontiac SUV, which he had borrowed for the night.
Liam Beckett and his friend were driving a few seconds behind Bennett. When he turned the corner, he saw the SUV on its roof and debris everywhere. The driver was nowhere to be found.
Another car stopped, and the three friends found Bennett in the ditch. Beckett covered him with his jacket and administered first aid until paramedics arrived.
“I didn’t recognize him, the injuries were so severe,” Beckett said. “I stayed with him, tried talking to him, not knowing it was one of my good friends.”
The town’s mayor, Jack Wilson, was on his way home from a Christmas party when he saw the road blocked by police. He later found out the man killed was the son of Coun. Steve Bennett, who has worked with the town for at least 10 years.
Bennett was taken to hospital in Pembroke before he was airlifted to the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus. He died early Sunday morning, surrounded by family and friends, less than a month before his birthday.
Bennett’s friend Sam Munro shared the same birthday with him. Their large group of friends have celebrated their Jan. 1 birthday on New Year’s Eve for the last four years.
“It’s going to be really hard and really different but we will get all of our gang together,” Munro said. “Mike would want us to celebrate and have a good time.”
Bennett’s friend was in visiting his girlfriend in Ottawa when he heard what happened. Steve Cressman, 18, got to the hospital around 11:30 p.m. He was let into Bennett’s hospital room around 3 a.m. to say goodbye.
“I told him that the boys, we were with him, always with him,” Cressman said. “He was a huge Leafs fan and I told him his Leafs will come around sometime.”
Bennett was on his “victory lap” of high school, his mother said, staying an extra year to play sports. Cressman and Bennett were co-captains of the school hockey team and planned to go to Algonquin College together next year for firefighting.
The hockey team members were to wear their uniforms on Tuesday as they retire Bennett’s jersey during a memorial ceremony at Fellowes High School.
“There was a C on his jersey the last time he played and it’s going to stay there,” Cressman said. “It’s going to stay there forever.”
Almost 1,000 people joined a Facebook group set up in his memory by Monday afternoon. Hundreds of comments emerged on the site, saying his smile was contagious and he was the life of the party. About 100 friends have visited the Bennett family to offer their condolences.
“There is no doubt about it, he was a character, a loveable character, and humorous from when he was very tiny,” Kathy Bennett said. “Pictures show his love of life, his love of people. He was just one of those really outgoing, sociable and personable kids.”
Bennett’s funeral will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Neville Funeral Home.
Updated 07 DEC 09
by EFDTM Staff
It's been learned that Saturday's single vehicle rollover claimed the life of 18-year-old Michael Bennett, a Laurentian Valley, ON teen.Bennett was the lone occupant in the vehicle. He was ejected from his Pontiac Torrent CUV.
Bennett is the son of Laurentian Valley Township Councillor Steve Bennett and his wife Kathy.
Staff at Education for the Driving Masses extend our condolences to his family as they deal with this tragedy.
Police have not yet determined a cause.
Friends of Bennett's have created a Facebook Group in his memory. Called RIP MIKE BENNETT (BENNY), the public group is available to those with Facebook accounts to leave condolences.
Photo: Tina Peplinski, Daily Observer
From a report from the Pembroke Daily Observer
ONTARIO - A single-vehicle rollover Saturday night has claimed the life of an 18-year-old male.
Just before 9 p.m., the teen was driving a white Pontiac Torrent CUV traveling northbound on Drive-In Road when he lost control of the vehicle.
The CUV left the road, traveled through the left ditch and flipped where it came to a rest on its roof in the middle of the road.
The teen, who was the lone occupant in the vehicle, was ejected, landing 20 feet away from the wreckage and was found on the shoulder of the road by a witness. Police have not confirmed if the teen had been wearing a seatbelt.
The witness, Kody Koepsel, was one of the first people to find the victim. The teen was badly bleeding, so Koepsel covered him with a coat and blankets and talked to him until paramedics arrived. The teen was breathing but unresponsive, according to the witness.
The teen was transported to Pembroke Regional Hospital by the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service and later airlifted to Ottawa Civic Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
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