Speakers Corner: Buried nail traps, wires put people in danger on Caledon biking trail

Our Speakers Corner report takes us to Caledon where one man is sounding the alarm after finding several nail traps and wires hidden on a hiking and biking trail.

“I’ve been injured several times and so have some friends,” Rocco DiRaimo told CityNews.

It’s happening in a rural area at the corner of Highway 9 and Tottenham Road in Caledon, where there are unofficial dirt trails used by hikers, horseback riders, and people like DiRaimo who ride motorized dirt bikes.

“We have found these on trails on my property but it also backs up to government land and other people are allowed to ride and walk back there,” he said.

A motorized dirt bike driven along a trail in Caledon. CITYNEWS

DiRaimo and his friends first started to notice a problem two years ago.

“Our bikes all got flat tires, consistently, and we thought it was weird,” he said.

Then he started uncovering what he calls nail traps.

“They use double sided plywood, they spike it into the ground and on the flip side, which faces up, there are four nails sticking out.” DiRaimo said. “That pops your ties and I have stepped on one, which pierced my foot.”

But even more troubling for DiRaimo are the wires.

“They’re being tied from tree to tree,” he said. “I have been hit at neck level riding through these trails.”

DiRaimo has been collecting the wires and nail traps, and showed CityNews the large pile he has stored in his garage. But he said as soon as he takes them out more pop up.

“Someone is doing this intentionally, I’m not sure why but it’s sick,” he said.

DiRaimo, his friends, and a neighbour have all reported the incidents to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Caledon.

“We’ve probably contacted them at least 10 times,” he said.

But so far no arrests have been made, so DiRaimo is taking matters into his own hands.

“I am putting it around everywhere telling my friends to be careful around here.”

He’s posting to social media and is also doing his own investigative work.

“I have also put tree cams all around so we can catch someone in the act doing it and then maybe police can do something,” DiRaimo said.

CityNews reached out to provincial police. Const. Joe Brisebois said the “OPP is aware of the incidents. It has been determined they occurred on private property. No suspect information is available at this time.”

Const. Brisebois asked anyone with information can contact Caledon OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously. As detectives work the case, DiRaimo continues on his mission to warn others. He also hopes to one day catch the person on camera.

“My biggest fear is me or my friends getting decapitated by wires out here or stepping on nails as I have before,” he said.

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