‘Driver inattention’ at root of 3 deadly transport truck crashes: OPP
Posted October 26, 2017 12:17 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Ontario Provincial Police say it’s “driver inattention at its worst” after laying a total of 14 charges against three people in connection with three separate transport truck crashes that claimed the lives of six people on Ontario highways this past summer.
The OPP says in all three incidents, transport trucks travelling on a highway crashed into the back of traffic which had stopped or slowed down on the roadway.
Two of the collisions occurred on Highway 401, one near Port Hope on Aug. 3, and the other in Chatham-Kent on July 30. The third collision occurred on Highway 48 in the Town of Georgina on July 27.
The OPP also noted similar circumstances in a fourth crash back in May on Highway 401 near Kingston in which charges were previously laid. Three men and one woman were killed when their vehicle was struck from behind by a truck that failed to stop in a construction zone.
“This series of horrific collisions is driver inattention at its worst and the most tragic reminder in recent history of the tremendous toll on the lives of innocent citizens when commercial transport truck drivers are not paying full attention to the road,” said OPP commissioner Vince Hawkes.
“We are putting drivers on notice that the OPP will pursue every investigative avenue following serious collisions and hold at-fault drivers accountable to the full extent of the law.”
Baljinder Singh of Brampton faces four charges in connection with a fiery crash involving three vehicles on Highway 401 near Cobourg which resulted in the deaths of two people.
Manjit Parmar of Brampton faces five charges in connection with a six vehicle collision on Highway 401 near Chatham-Kent which resulted in the deaths of two people, including a 14-year-old boy.
Jatheesen Krishnamoorthy of Scarborough faces five charges in connection with a five vehicle crash on Highway 48 in Georgina that resulted in the deaths of two people.
The OPP says so far this year, they’ve responded to more than 5,000 transport truck-related crashes. In 56 of those crashes, 67 lives were lost. In 2015 and 2016, the OPP says a total of 155 people were killed in similar crashes.
