Pedestrian killed in Gatineau

LCN

QUEBEC - A man in his fifties was fatally injured late last night in Gatineau.

Shortly before 11pm, a pedestrian was crossing Labrosse Boulevard when a car hit him.

The man suffered serious head and chest injuries and died in hospital.

The 18 year old driver of the car was treated for shock.

Alcohol and speed are not involved, police said.

Court: B.C. man had brain disorder day of fatal restaurant crash, court hears

Police investigate a fatal crash at Halu Sushi in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Aug. 28, 2008.
Photo: Nick Procaylo, Vancouver Province

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The Province

BRITISH COLUMBIA - Brian Irving was suffering from an "acute mental disorder" the day he drove into a sushi restaurant in Maple Ridge, killing two women and injuring seven other people, according to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe.

Lohrasbe testified earlier this week that Irving was in a "disordered" mental state, due to delirium brought on by alcohol withdrawal. Irving also had suffered an injury to his right frontal lobe months before the incident and he could have been suffering from a fasting disease called ketoacidosis. Lohrasbe argued both conditions would have further contributed to his mental condition.

Irving is on trial in New Westminster Supreme Court on two counts of criminal negligence causing death and seven counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Ketoacidosis is a medical condition that is caused by prolonged fasting. Lohrasbe said it causes confusion, a dimming of consciousness and can eventually lead to comatoseness and death. A doctor who saw Irving days after the Aug. 28, 2008 crash found that he was dehydrated and suffering from ketoacidosis. Lohrasbe said he couldn't say for sure that Irving was suffering from ketoacidosis at the time of the incident because Irving couldn't tell him when he had last eaten before driving his truck into the restaurant.

Lohrasbe interviewed Irving for three hours in May 2009 and Irving could not tell him why he had crashed into the building. Witnesses have testified that Irving accelerated and drove straight into Halu Sushi.

Witnesses also said that even after the truck came to a stop, the tires were still spinning and they could hear the engine revving.

Lohrasbe said his "best guess" as a psychiatrist was that Irving "literally didn't see the restaurant or the people in front of him" and that Irving believed he was on the "open road" at the time.

Crown counsel Robert Bonner asked Lohrasbe if Irving would be able to appreciate what he was doing or if he'd know that it was wrong "in a legal or moral sense" due to his medical condition. Lohrasbe said, "No."

Irving had suffered from a hallucination that his brother, who lives in Saskatchewan, had showed up on his doorstep with a buffalo the morning before the crash and he also had delusions that his daughter and his son were dead, said Lohrasbe.

Irving was a middle-aged man with no prior history of violence or aggression "suggesting something went drastically wrong" the day he drove into Halu Sushi, said Lohrasbe.

Lohrasbe testified that Irving had a "peculiar kind of disconnection" during his interview with him.

"It's like there's a vacancy there," he said.

During the interview Irving was "teary, soft and morose" when talking about the incident and the fact that two women were killed but when the topic was changed his mood shifted "almost instantaneously."

Lohrasbe described how people with brain injuries often "switch off" immediately after their attention or the topic being discussed changes and have a "lack of depth" to their moods.

How you know it's time to buy a lottery ticket

Thanks to Beth for the link.

Fringe: Attacking cops 'a heartbreaking case' of attempted suicide

File photo of the exterior of the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor.
Photograph by: File photo, The Windsor Star

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The Windsor Daily Star

ONTARIO - On June 26, 2008, James Gay wanted to die.

It was 1 a.m. the 31-year-old factory worker was driving down Huron Church Road. He spotted a police cruiser stopped at the light at Wyandotte Street West, pulled his white Saturn alongside, then backed up, hit the gas and rammed the driver’s side.

What Gay did next was even more bizarre. He grabbed a baseball bat out of his car and began pounding on the cruiser. Const. Christopher Peletier drew his revolver, ordering Gay to drop the bat. Rather than shoot, Const. Tim St. Pierre hit Gay with pepper spray, to no effect.

The two officers, in their reports, described Gay as “enraged.” Still in that state, Gay ran away. When the officers caught up with him on Indian Road, he was holding a knife. The officers had to break his arm with a baton to get him to drop the weapon.

“You’ve heard the term suicide by police. That’s what it looked like,” defence lawyer Daniel Topp said Tuesday outside the courtroom where Gay had been found not criminally responsible for his actions because of mental illness. “It looked like he wanted to die. He didn’t have any history with the police. Why attack the police?”

Topp told Ontario court Justice Guy DeMarco Gay had an undiagnosed mental illness at the time of the incident. A doctor’s report explains Gay was in a psychotic state, and to this day, he can’t explain or even remember his behaviour.

Gay has been seeing a psychiatrist and taking counselling through the Canadian Mental Health Association. In court Tuesday, he was calm, clean and polite. His healthy mental state is thanks to medication he takes, his lawyer said.

“I think as long as he remains medically compliant, he will cause no concern to society,” Topp said.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” said assistant Crown attorney Roger Dietrich. “He’s not a danger right now. Off medication, he is a threat.”

DeMarco handed Gay a conditional discharge, ordering him to continue counselling through the CMHA and take whatever medication is prescribed by his treating physician. “It keeps you healthy and it keeps society safe if you fall out of health,” DeMarco said of the sentence he imposed.

“This is a heartbreaking case,” Topp said outside the courtroom. “He’s a nice guy.”

Topp said Gay comes from a good family. His father is a former Essex town councillor who fills his retirement with volunteer pursuits. Gay, who was living alone at the time of the incident, now lives with his parents in Leamington.

After his arrest, Gay repeatedly tried to commit suicide in jail, Topp said. Gay would climb onto the top bunk in his cell and roll off, trying to hit his head on the sink. He was subsequently hospitalized, spending four months in a psychiatric ward. He has been free on bail with no incidents.

Topp heaped praise on the police officers in the case for not pulling the trigger on Gay. “These officers, thankfully they didn’t shoot him.”

Topp told the judge the officers had expressed remorse for breaking Gay’s arm.

“A broken arm, you recover from,” DeMarco said. “You don’t recover from a bullet to the head.”

Benjamin Brian Hughes killed 4 people, yet his lawyer thinks his punishment should be sitting at home watching Seinfeld reruns for 2 years

Victims from January 2006 car crash that killed four people: Nikola Jozic (left) and Tadija Jozic.
Photo: Handout

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Vancouver Sun

Crown seeks 7.5-year term

BRITISH COLUMBIA - The Crown is seeking a 7.5-year prison sentence for a man who caused a freeway crash that killed four young men in 2006.

Benjamin Brian Hughes, who is 31 today, was found guilty in August of four counts of criminal negligence causing death, one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and five counts of leaving the scene of a collision.

The crash occurred as a BMW and a Cadillac were travelling at high speed on Highway 1 near the Vancouver-Burnaby border when the driver of the BMW lost control and the car hit a lamppost.

RELATED
Hughes found guilty for fatal BC crash that killed four

The crash broke the BMW in two, killing the driver, Nick Jozic, 28, his brother Tadija Jozic, 25, Chris Michas, 26, and James Jasamanidse, 26.

One passenger, Phil Miller, survived the crash on Jan. 28, 2006, and testified at the trial.

Hughes also testified, saying he was speeding but denied he was racing the BMW or driving dangerously.

The Crown called the accused a liar.

The judge found Hughes guilty of "outrageous" speeds of up to 160 km\hr on a rainy night with poor visibility.

Hughes, who failed to remain at the scene of the collision, has a history of drinking and driving, Crown prosecutor Ralph Keefer told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Allan Stewart.

Although Hughes had no previous criminal record, he has had five 24-hour driving prohibitions, the most recent on Dec. 17, 2007, when he was involved in a car crash in North Vancouver.

As a result of that crash, Hughes was charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm. He pleaded guilty to that charge last January and was fined $1,500 and prohibited from driving for nine months.

The offence shows Hughes has no remorse, the Crown said. (Exactly. Nothing like trying to pad your resume before the big day in court, eh Ben? - Peter)

The prosecutor also asked Stewart to impose a 15-year driving prohibition on Hughes.

Defence lawyer Glen Orris suggested the Crown's position on sentencing was "really out of line."

The appropriate sentence, he said, is two years less a day, which would allow Hughes to serve a conditional sentence of house arrest. ( ... said the lawyer with a fifteen foot long nose)

The hearing will continue at 2 p.m. at the Vancouver Law Courts.

Surrey BC bus driver busted on YouTube video playing Sudoku while driving

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Aldergrove Star

BRITISH COLUMBIA - A TransLink bus driver is in trouble after being caught on video solving Sudoku puzzles while driving in Surrey.

The cellphone video, recorded by a passenger on the bus as the driver navigated traffic on the Fraser Highway, was posted to YouTube.

"It's a pretty serious situation," said Coast Mountain Bus Co. spokesman Derek Zabel, adding the incident is under investigation.

"In the clip it appears the person is either doing Sudoku or some sort of puzzle," Zabel said.

Coast Mountain doesn't have an explicit policy against the behaviour.

"We don't need a policy to say don't do puzzles because there's a law against it," Zabel said. "If this bus were to get in a collision, this driver could be charged with driving without due care and attention."

Bus drivers are expected to drive as they're trained, he said, and that includes checking mirrors every six to eight seconds and constantly scanning the road ahead.

"If somebody's doing a puzzle they can't do that."

Update: Nancy Theoret identified as victim in crash with Windsor police cruiser

A Windsor police vehicle involved in a collision with an other vehicle remains on the corner of Langlois Avenue and Wyandotte Avenue Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 in Windsor, Ont.
Photo: Jason Kryk, The Windsor Star

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Windsor Star

ONTARIO - The daughter of a Windsor woman killed in a collision with a Windsor police cruiser Monday night says she is devastated and wants a thorough investigation.

Stacey Wilson said her mother — Nancy Theoret — was a grandmother of five and an avid bingo and darts player.

"She was that one person who always talked to everybody and had billions of friends. Everybody knew her," said Wilson. "If you ever needed something, you would call her and she would do it."

The officers involved in the crash that killed Theoret and injured her friend Monday night were racing to block off roads to make way for an ambulance carrying a fellow officer suffering a heart attack.

The officer, Senior Const. Mark Landry, 49, later died at hospital. Landry was off duty playing basketball at Walkerville High School when he suffered the heart attack.

Theoret, 56, was a passenger in the Buick struck by the cruiser. Her name has not been released by investigators.

The driver of the vehicle — a 58-year-old woman — was rushed to Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition. She has not been identified by investigators but Wilson said her name was Debbie Stein, a long-time friend of her mother's.

The province's Special Investigations Unit, which investigates cases of serious injury, death or sexual assault involving police, has assigned five investigators and two forensic investigators to the case. Investigators were on the scene Tuesday canvassing the area for witnesses.

The fatal crash occurred shortly after 8 p.m.. at the intersection of Langlois Avenue and Wyandotte Street.

The cruiser was eastbound on Wyandotte with lights and sirens going when it broadsided the Buick.

The 56-year-old woman was extricated from the vehicle with the Jaws of Life and pronounced dead at Hotel-Dieu Grace.

The two officers in the Ford Police Interceptor cruiser were treated for minor injuries and released from hospital.

Witnesses said the driver of the Buick tried to cross Langlois, which has a stop sign at Wyandotte, to beat the speeding cruiser. The violent impact crushed in the passenger side door of the Buick and the front end of the cruiser.

Both vehicles spun and came to rest on the sidewalk on the southeast corner of the intersection in front of the Angkor Vat Supermarket. The store's front window was shattered by flying debris.

Pieces of both vehicles were scattered across a wide area and officers cordoned off a large section of Wyandotte as the collision reconstruction unit went about their business.

The SIU is urging anyone who witnessed the collision to contact them at 416-622-0748 or 1-800-7878529, ext. 1935.

No appeal in repeat drunk driver Roger Walsh case

CBC.ca

Crown had tried to have Roger Walsh declared a dangerous offender

QUEBEC - There will be no appeal in the case of a repeat drunk driver who was sentenced to life in prison last month for killing a woman in a wheelchair in 2008.

The Crown had tried to have Roger Walsh, 57, of St. Lazare, declared a dangerous offender.

Walsh pleaded guilty last year in the hit-and-run death of Anee Khudaverdian, a Les Cèdres resident who used a wheelchair because of a childhood polio infection.

Walsh had more than double the legal blood-alcohol limit in his system the night he struck and killed Khudaverdian with his minivan.

He had previous 19 drunk-driving convictions and long list of other criminal offences.

The victim’s sister Clara Khudaverdian said she was disappointed to learn the news in a conference call with the prosecutor Monday.

She said she worries Walsh could be up for parole in as little as seven years.

Anee Khudaverdian, who was celebrating her 47th birthday that day and out walking her dog, was thrown into a ditch. Walsh drove away from the collision and was arrested about 10 kilometres away, after he crashed into a ditch.

Dad pleads guilty to killing daughter in crash. Natasha Lynn Ritchie dies after father flees police

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

ONTARIO - A suspended driver who ran a red light while being pursued by Hamilton police has pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing the death of his 18-year-old daughter.

Terry Ritchie, 46, also entered a guilty plea yesterday to operating a motor vehicle while disqualified. The Hamilton man was remanded in custody until sentencing on Dec. 7.

Assistant Crown attorney Todd Norman said the black Saturn driven by Ritchie was speeding eastbound on Wilson Street when it ran the red light at Wellington Street shortly after 8 p.m. on March 28.

Ritchie made no attempt to brake and struck a Pontiac van that was proceeding into the intersection on a green light.

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Father now criminally charged in crash that killed daughter, Natasha Ritchie, 18

The Saturn spun out of control and struck a wood utility pole. Ritchie had to be removed from the driver’s seat and transported to hospital.

His daughter, Natasha Lynn Ritchie, the mother of a young child, was killed by the impact between the car and pole. She was his front-seat passenger.

Terry Ritchie had been a suspended driver since 1989 and had purchased the Saturn for $500 the previous winter. The licence plates on the Saturn were taken from another vehicle without permission and the validation sticker had expired.

WORTH READING: Hit by a vehicle travelling 200 km/h, 'you don't have much of a chance'

Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 8:44PM EDT

ONTARIO - What happens when your van gets hit in the side by a vehicle doing 200 kilometres an hour?

The short answer: You will die.

“That's not a survivable collision,” says Amrit Toor, an engineer and collision-reconstruction expert with Vancouver-based Intech Engineering. “The forces are monumental.”

As experts like Mr. Toor know all too well, a car crash is governed by the immutable physical laws that Sir Isaac Newton first articulated in the 17th century.

And speed is a killer, because the force of a collision rises as the square of the velocity – which means that even though the speed is only four times higher, a crash at 200 kilometres per hour is 16 times worse than one at 50 kilometres per hour.

In a collision, a car's kinetic energy is dissipated in two ways, which engineers refer to as damage and displacement. The car, as well as the one it hits, loses energy as components bend and break. Energy is also dissipated by friction as the force of the collision pushes the impacted car along the road.

Excessive speed creates risks that few non-professionals would anticipate. A car doing 200 km/h, for example, sets the stage for what traffic engineers call an “unalerted reaction.”

When we encounter something outside our typical experience, we react slowly, or not at all. When we see an oncoming car, for example, we judge how much time it will take to reach us based on typical speed patterns.

At 70 km/h (the posted limit on Finch Avenue) a car 60 metres away would arrive in just over three seconds, giving enough time for a left turn. But at 200 km/h, the car would reach you in one second, making a collision almost inevitable.

“It all comes down to math,” says Constable Hugh Smith of the Toronto police traffic services unit. “At 200 kilometres an hour, you are a projectile.”

This weekend's crash also illustrated the vast differences that angle and position can make. The driver of the BMW (who faces criminal charges) was the lucky one: because he hit the van going straight ahead, he took advantage of several lifesaving features.

His seat belts and air bags restrained him and slowed his deceleration. His car's kinetic energy was absorbed by the crushing of its front compartment, and by the destruction of the van that he hit.

The passengers in the van, on the other hand, faced a worst-case scenario. The speeding BMW hit them in the side, where there is little structure to absorb an impact through deformation. “It's the worst way to get hit,” Constable Smith says. “You don't have much of a chance.”

Father breaks down at fatal crash site: Roman Luskin remains in jail following bail hearing

Toronto Star

Luskin's history includes fraud, forgery, impaired driving charges

ONTARIO - The man accused of impaired driving in the weekend crash that killed three people will remain in custody after a brief appearance in bail court this morning.

Roman Luskin, 21, faces three counts of impaired driving causing death, three counts of criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide a breath sample.

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Three die after rollover near Jane and Finch. Alleged drunk driver driving at 200 km/hr in 50 km/hr zone wipes out family

WORTH READING: Hit by a vehicle travelling 200 km/h, 'you don't have much of a chance'

At this morning's hearing, he was still wearing a white bandage around his left hand and scrapes remained visible along the right side of his head, visible through his short, buzz-cut hair.

He was remanded in custody until Oct. 30, when he will return to court to set a date for a bail hearing.

Accompanied by lawyer Michael Simrod and a Russian translator, Luskin sat expressionless throughout the hearing, showing no emotion and remaining silent.

Simrod declined comment as he left court with an unidentified woman.

At the scene of the crash on Monday morning, scant evidence remained of Saturday night's devastating collision.

But at the northwest corner of Finch Ave. W. and Tobermory Dr., someone had placed two colourful bouquets against the base of a tree.

That was the spot where a 1999 BMW 540 — police described it as "out of control" — sliced a Honda Odyssey minivan in half, killing 44-year-old Hon To, her 24-year-old daughter, Khan (Christine) Taing, and another female passenger.

The minivan driver, To's husband, Pho Taing, was released from Sunnybrook Hospital on Sunday.

He has a broken collarbone and chest injuries that make breathing very painful, according to the family.

Another passenger, Hon Tran, 36, was in stable but critical condition and would be undergoing surgery, said a friend of the family that came here from Cambodia 15 years ago.

"They were a lovely family. It's quite emotional.

"Everyone is heartbroken," said brother-in-law Yun Ho.

Pho Taing, with Yun Ho, returned to the crash site Monday and, after looking at a makeshift shrine, collapsed to his knees in grief.

"I'm hurt," he told a CTV reporter.

Earlier, Ho said Taing had quit his job as a factory worker to look after his wife, who had been fighting cancer for two years. Their only child was in her last year of nursing studies at the University of Toronto.

The family has not yet made funeral arrangements because they are waiting for relatives to arrive from France and the Netherlands.

Outside Sunnybrook Hospital on Monday, family friend Men Chi said he was feeling "so bad" about the Taings, whom he has known for about five years. Chi, who is Hon Tran's uncle, said his injured niece's parents live in Vietnam but he has yet to tell them about the crash.

"I don't want to worry them so I haven't told them," he said in Mandarin.

Taing, 43, had been driving the women home from prayers at a religious gathering late Saturday night when the crash occurred on Finch Ave. W. at Tobermory Dr.

Police estimate the BMW was travelling at 200 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.

Moments before the impact, the westbound BMW flew past a police cruiser heading east on Finch, said Sgt. Tim Burrows, adding the officers saw the crash in their rear-view mirror. After hitting the minivan, the BMW travelled another 100 metres or so, police said.

Luskin pleaded guilty in 2007 to five charges related to the placing of an electronic information "skimmer" on an ATM at a Kingston Scotiabank branch, according to a story in the Kingston Whig-Standard.

The Russian immigrant admitted to two counts of possessing card readers adapted to illegally skim banking information from debit cards, possession of stolen debit card data, mischief through interference with bank customers' lawful use of their debit cards, and attempting to defraud Scotiabank customers of money.

In return for the guilty plea, the Crown withdrew four counts of fraud and three counts of theft.

A judge gave Luskin a six-month conditional sentence to be served in the community and placed him on probation for one year.

Also in 2007, charges against him that included failing to provide a breathalyzer sample, possessing tools for the purpose of forgery and fraud, and a court order violation were stayed or withdrawn. The record did not state why.

Sombre lesson emotional for York region students

YorkRegion.com

ONTARIO - Southlake Regional Health Centre is teaching students how to party.

The new program, prevent alcohol and risk-related trauma in youth, is a joint effort with York Regional Police and York Region Emergency Medical Services that brings students into the emergency and trauma departments to learn about the consequences of risky behaviour such as driving under the influence, not wearing a helmet when riding a bike and not wearing a seat belt during a collision.

“We want to educate students so they can go out and make informed decisions about their behaviour,” Southlake occupational therapist Sara Throne said.

This is the first time the program will run at the hospital, but Ms Thorne said it was effective in the hospital in Ottawa where she used to work.

The one-day program, which is held once a month, has students follow the path a trauma patient would take from the scene of the crash, through the rehabilitation process and his return to life in the community.

Presentations are also made by police and emergency services throughout the day.

York Regional Police explain the legal side of impaired, careless and dangerous driving while speaking frankly about topics such as criminal negligence causing death.

Explanations of collision reconstruction and what it is like at the morgue follow.

“The three things that get young people in the most trouble are speed, seatbelts and alcohol,” York Regional Police Traffic Bureau Sgt. Ed Villamere said. “Through education, enforcement and the party program we hope to curb these very serious aggravating factors.”

Paramedics talk about the reality of the ripple effect injuries have teaching students about permanent physical and physiological effect of the brain and spinal cord damage common in youth and often associated with these behaviours.

Students also have the opportunity to work with the teaching doll by inserting an IV, catheter and how to intubate.

They also test out wheelchairs while occupational therapists.

Program organizer Jennifer Appelton demonstrates the affect a brain injury has on memory, attention span, reading and the ability to hold a job.

Guest speakers will help bring the message home by sharing their personal stories to help other youth from making the same poor decisions.

“Throughout the day, we knew the message was getting across when we saw the look on these students’ faces,” Ms Appelton said. “At the end of the day, as they listened to John Jamieson tell the story of his four-year-old son saying, ‘I wish you could walk’, the tears in their eyes, (showed us) that the message was getting through loud and clear.”

Students are warned about the emotional content contained in the presentations, Ms Thorne said she has seen a few tears from students and admits there are points when she has to turn away herself.

The program was first developed at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Hospital in 1986. However, there is a two year waiting list not to mention the task of transporting students from York Region to Toronto, which is the rational Ms Thorne used to explain why the program was needed at the local hospital.

She hopes next year to accommodate more student groups from schools all over the region but it does depend on how well the group’s fundraising goes. One school has already thrown a barbecue, raising funds to donate to the program.

Trucker killed in QEW rollover identified as Garry Melarkey

Photo courtesy of Tom Stefanac

Mississauga.com [adapted]

ONTARIO - The driver of a tractor-trailer who died Friday morning when his truck rolled over on the westbound Queen Elizabeth Way has been identified by friends as Garry Melarkey.

The 61-year-old resident of Frankford, Ont. died as a result of a medical condition. Friends say he had a heart attack just before he crashed his rig at around 5:30 a.m. on the QEW near Winston Churchill Blvd.

Melarkey was married and had two daughters and a son from a previous marriage, according to family friends.

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Hamilton Spectator

ONTARIO - A 61-year-old trucker from Eastern Ontario is dead after his rig drifted off the westbound Queen Elizabeth Way near Winston Churchill Boulevard early today and slammed into a ditch.

OPP Constable Graham Williamson said the driver, who was alone in the truck when the crash occurred at 5:30 a.m., may have suffered some medical distress before the rig left the road.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

“There’s no indication that there was another vehicle involved in this at all,” Williamson said at the scene, adding the driver’s name will not be released until next of kin have been notified

The crash caused commuter havoc on the QEW in Oakville, shutting down all three westbound lanes before the morning rush. They were re-opened shortly before 11 a.m.

Drivers slowing in the eastbound lanes to look at the wreck caused some problems early on, Williamson said, but Toronto-bound traffic was moving normally again by 8 a.m.

A heavy wrecker was on the scene preparing to right and remove the truck – loaded with paper products – when police conclude their investigation.

All westbound lanes were closed for more than an hour and traffic diverted onto Winston Churchill immediately following the crash.

The incident is still under investigation.

Keep encouraging and asking us to forgive those who drive at the speed of stupid, because their actions are now going to hit you where it hurts!

GTA drivers face 14% insurance hikes

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Driving at the speed of stupid defined

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THE TORONTO STAR
ON - Millions of Ontario drivers are about to be slammed with double-digit premium hikes, with the average Toronto-area driver likely to pay nearly 14 per cent more.

Ten insurers serving more than a quarter of Ontario drivers have just been cleared to raise their rates a second or third time in about 12 months.

Their policyholders will be hit with increases averaging between 11 and 19 per cent when the policies come up for renewal, joining drivers insured by several other companies that had already been cleared for double-digit increases. Another seven companies have been cleared for smaller increases in the latest round of approvals.

But these are only provincial averages, which do not represent what most GTA drivers can expect to pay.

Calculations by the Star show that Toronto-area policyholders of the 17 companies face an average increase of 14 per cent, while in the province as a whole drivers will see an increase of 9.1 per cent.

But some Toronto-area drivers — depending on the company they are with, their driving record and the neighbourhood they live in — face increases of 30 per cent or more.

"The big cost driver in Ontario, and even more so in the Greater Toronto Area, is collision benefits costs," said Leonard Sharman of Co-operators General Insurance Co.

"Things like assessments, medical rehabilitation, physiotherapy costs, etc., have been increasing pretty dramatically, and this is most pronounced in the GTA."

His company has been allowed two increases totalling 8.57 per cent since the middle of last year. But its GTA increases would be 11 and 14 per cent, said Sharman, warning there is more to come in March.

Don Forgeron, president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said "insurers are doing all that they have at their disposal (in the face of rising demands for treatment and compensation) — to pass those cost increases on to consumers.

"I guess we, like everybody else, are waiting with anticipation for an announcement by government. We think we have made a credible case for substantive reform, and we hope we have been heard."

Insurers complain the only means they have to stand up to what they see as excess requests for assessment and treatment of mainly minor sprain, strain and whiplash injuries is to order their own costly assessments.

While Finance Minister Dwight Duncan is expected to announce changes to auto insurance policies within days or weeks, it won't be this week.

A spokesperson says his fall update of the budget Thursday is his first priority.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario said in its latest quarterly announcement it had cleared insurers serving a third of Ontario to raise rates an average of 6.2 per cent.

But that was just the latest rate change for the 17 insurers. When compounded with increases approved over 12 months, the increase will be 9.1 per cent as annual policies are renewed.

To come up with its estimate of 14 per cent in the GTA, the Star took that 9.1 per cent provincial figure and added the same amount extra that Co-operators revealed Monday its Toronto policyholders would pay.

The average premium per auto in the GTA was $1,682 last year. A 14 per cent increase would take the average to $1,917.

Insurers serving about 27 per cent of drivers have been granted double-digit province-wide increases. These include AXA Insurance (Canada) at 12.2 per cent, Kingsway General Insurance (recently renamed Jevco Insurance) at 21.2 per cent, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance at 12.5 per cent and Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. at 15.1 per cent.

Drivers with Pembridge Insurance Co. Ltd., who already paid some of the highest premiums due to multiple collisions or driving infractions, will see rates rise an average of 18.8 per cent.

Based on Co-operator's experience, that could translate into an average increase of nearly 30 per cent in the Toronto area for drivers with poor records.

A spokesperson for Pembridge said he could not reach executives to confirm the actual figures.

Meanwhile, drivers with a perfectly fine driving record are facing extra demands to keep their preferred insurance rates with Economical Mutual Insurance Co.

The company is notifying brokers that owners of old vehicles must update and have all drivers in their household sign applications for insurance, to ensure all the information on record is current. In addition, they must have their vehicles inspected.

Randy Carroll, chief executive of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario, said most brokers would prefer not to put their clients through the inconvenience.

But he said they are getting pressure from other insurers not to switch Economical clients to their companies, as the insurer for 6.2 per cent of Ontario drivers suffered the heaviest losses in the industry last year.

Noel Walpole, president of Economical, said his company would prefer not to require policyholders to complete an entirely new application form.

Unfortunately, regulators have taken weeks to approve a shorter, more efficient method of updating client information.

Andrew Wicken, general manager of InsuranceHotline.com, said he cannot promise drivers, who use his website to search for the lowest auto insurance premium, will find savings these days.

"But it is particularly important to shop the market when we see increases like this," he said.

"Consumers cannot control these increases, but they can control other things that affect their rates," Wicken said.

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Yeah, drive smarter and drive safer instead of just driving. - Staff

Hamilton Police van flips after collision with car

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The Spectator

ONTARIO - A police van rolled over after colliding with a car at a downtown intersection yesterday afternoon.

The officer was helped out of the van by firefighters and put on a stretcher after the collision at King Street East and Catharine Street. Her injuries were not known.

Firefighters had to cut away the top of the car to get out its driver, who then was seen walking around.

Charges pending in fatal crash near Lloydminster. Victim identified as Dale McCaw, 42. Described as man "with big heart"

Community mourns
Lloydminster Meridian Booster

A weekend collision just north of Lloydminster has claimed the life of a well-known Border City man.

Dale McCaw, 42, was killed in a head-on collision involving three vehicles about two miles north of Lloydminster on Saturday afternoon.

McCaw worked at McCaw Funeral Services, which has served the Lloydminster area for more than 50 years.

McCaw and his wife Dana, along with their four children have been active members of Southridge Community Church where he has been involved in children’s activities as a Sunday School teacher, youth worker, AWANA commander and camp director.

Ken Fisher, lead pastor at Southridge Community Church, remembers McCaw fondly.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is (he was) just the man who had a big heart and loved people in all situations and circumstances,” said Fisher. “He will be missed for his friendly demeanor, his warm welcomes, how you felt loved and special every time you came into contact with him, whether it was a firm handshake or a big hug.

“He was the first guy there to greet and welcome you when you were going through a hard time,” he said.

After completing Grade 12, McCaw completed a one-year Bachelor of Religious Education at the Canadian Bible College, and in 1995, began his apprenticeship at McCaw Funeral Service. By 1989, McCaw had both Alberta and Saskatchewan funeral service licenses.

“He was such a people person, someone who was always there to help out someone else, whatever that was and that happens a lot obviously through his occupation,” said Brad Berkan, executive pastor at Southridge Community Church. “He was always there for people who were grieving and in need.”

Berkan said McCaw would be missed by anyone who met him.

“I think as well as how he will be missed is by who he will be missed,” said Berkan. “We had calls from people who met him once and … remembered who he was and couldn’t believe he passed away. And those were people who only had one short interaction with him, so it’s not only people who have known him for years.

“Anyone who has come into contact with him or had any kind of interaction with Dale, remembers who is and will remember him,” said Berkan, adding McCaw’s love for God was evident in every aspect of his life.

“That was a huge part of who he was and a huge part of why he did what he did and how he did what he did,” he said. “(It’s) the reason he had the compassion he did (and) the reason he had the love and friendliness for others.

Five other people involved in the collision were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the truck was later arrested at the hospital. Charges are pending and police are continuing their investigation.

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Saskatoon StarPhoenix

ALBERTA - RCMP say charges are pending against a driver in connection with a fatal three-vehicle crash Saturday near Lloydminster.

The collision happened at around 5 p.m., when a truck headed south on Highway 17 struck a trailer that was being pulled behind a northbound vehicle, then lost control and hit a second northbound vehicle head-on, says a news release issued Monday by Maidstone RCMP.

A 42-year-old man, the sole occupant of the second vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene, about three kilometres north of Lloydminster. RCMP did not say which vehicle he was in.

Five people from the southbound truck were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The male driver of the truck was arrested at the hospital, the release says. The nature of the pending charges was not specified, and RCMP continue to investigate.

Update: Fredericton crash victims transferred to Saint John hospital

Daily Gleaner

NEW BRUNSWICK - Two people are in hospital in Saint John following Monday night's car crash on a divided section of Route 8 in Fredericton.

A 17-year-old girl from Fredericton who was at the wheel of an eastbound Honda Prelude that crossed the median and went into the westbound lane was taken to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital and then transferred to the Saint John Regional Hospital. She's in critical, but stable, condition, according to police.

A 43-year-old woman from Charleston - near Centreville in Carleton County - who was a passenger in the westbound Toyota Sienna was also taken to the Saint John hospital with unspecified injuries.

She was travelling with her husband and 14-year-old daughter. They were treated and then released, said Const. Ralph Currie of the Fredericton Police Force.

The investigation into the collision is ongoing.

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Daily Gleaner

4 people injured in Fredericton collision

NEW BRUNSWICK - Four people were rushed to hospital with serious injuries Monday night after a head-on crash on the four-lane section of Route 8 in Fredericton.

The collision occurred when a car in the eastbound lane crossed into the opposite lane around 7:30 p.m. Monday. The crash happened between the Smythe Street and Hanwell Road exits.

“Four people were taken to hospital. They are all seriously injured,” Cpl. Stephen Horsman of the Fredericton Police Force said from the scene.

A collision reconstructionist was called in to investigate the crash, he said.

Traffic was being diverted off of the highway Monday night.

Horsman said three of the people taken to hospital were in the westbound car. The other person was in the eastbound car.