A 28-year-old Toronto man was drunk when he caused a fatal head-on collision on the QEW on Oct. 21, according to Ontario Provincial Police. He has been charged with impaired driving causing death.
Police said they received a 911 call reporting a Toyota Tundra driving the wrong direction in the Niagara-bound lanes of the QEW around 5:12 a.m. Responding officers attempted to intercept the truck, but it collided with a Buick sedan near Fifty Road about a minute later. The driver of the sedan, a 31-year-old St. Catharines man, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The pickup driver was taken to Hamilton General Hospital with serious injuries.
The incident is the second time a wrong-way driver has entered the QEW in October. Police safely intercepted a 73-year-old Burlington man driving the wrong direction near Red Hill Valley Parkway approximately three weeks ago. He was charged with careless driving.
According to the OPP, impaired driving has played a role in 34 of 216 road fatalities they have investigated in 2014. It is the fourth-leading cause of death in motor vehicle crashes, behind speeding, distracted driving and seat belt non-compliance.
A head-on collision can cause catastrophic injuries leading to permanent and serious impairment or death. Anyone who has been injured or lost a loved one in a car crash caused by another driver may want to meet with a lawyer. A lawyer can use police reports, blood alcohol content tests, witness accounts and crash scene evidence to show a driver was responsible for the accident. A negligent driver, such as a drunk driver or a distracted driver, may be held financially liable in court and ordered to pay injured parties compensation for their losses.
