Clinton News-Record, 1984-06-13, Page 2APPLIANCE REPAIRS
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404 \Oa* NitAtelhe'.10010 results of a
coroner's *Pest. into . the death of
-ConstabletBrneeCreWofqoderiA
Two days of testimony beginning:last
Wednesdat focused on tiAxperiences of
the few people'. involved directly .* the
high-speed chase in Goderich and
Goderich Township • last September 25
which ended in the accident that claimed
the life. of the„Ontario Provincial Police
officer. -
The main witnesses were the two men
driving the. car which was being chased,
and the three police officers who were
giving chase: Constable Peter Mason of
the Goderich town police, Constable
Donald Armstrong of Clinton, and OPP
Constable Ifohn Straughan, who was
Crew's partner the'night of the accident.
From the police testimony came the
message which the jurors focused on in
their first reeornmendation—that the
incident could have turned qut much
differently had there been direct
communication between the Goderich
town cruiser and the OPP, car.
The five municipal . police forces in
Huron County share a radio system which
allows cruisers to communicate directly
with each other in an emergency situation. •
Constables Mason and Armstrong were
using the emergency channel during the
chase, and lawyer Jim Donnelly noted in
his closing comments that because of this
direct communication they were able to
co-ordinate their actions effectively.
OPP cars are not able to talk directly
with the town cruisers even during an
emergency situation, and are required to
have all messages relayed through the
OPP dispatcher. This happened the early
morning of the accident. Direct
communication between the provincial
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'.,onstable Mason Mk;
few seconds necessary
AP,
A ' recreationSEPTEMBERof . 1141070 as they
happen�d early'Iast September 20 took
shape 411ring Areillid.,' . 3 9 course of the inquest.
t morning Constable
,
Mason was drivrng around the Square in a
__marked__,, IOWA cruiser when he noticed a
InaeF TraPaAM make a U-turn near the
pa)g:
intersection 0 eat Street and the Square,
The Trans. driver Allan Nicholson,
21, and Amager and owner Wayne
McDonald, 23, both pf R.R. 2 Lucknow
were Wowing friend Eddie Lippert who
was driving another vehicle, and who had
turned south down Waterloo Street.
Nicholson also turned south down the same
street, and was followed by Const. Mason,
who said he turned on his flashing lights
after he turned the corner.
The Mason testimony continued that he
saw Nicholson cross Elgin St. and turn left
on Britannia St. without stopping at the
stop signs at either. Just before turning to
go east on Britannia, Nicholson had passed
the Lippert vehicle.
By the time' Mason turned left on
Britannia, he said the TransAm was past
South St. He said the car went through the
Victoria St. intersection without stopping
and turned right on Highway 8 while the
traffic lights were red, again without
having stopped.
Mason said the TransAm was driving
very fast, and he called for assistance
from the OPP dispatcher, who said their
only vehicle was on Highway 21. He then
called for assistance from the Clinton
police, who agreed to drive •toward
Goderich on Highway 8 to intercept the
vehicle.
As Mason was passing the Plymouth
dealership on the edge of town on Highway
8, he said he was going 165 km per hour. He
turned off his flashing lights, which is
standard procedure during high speed
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.,Taylor's Corners, past the lientn11100
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between 164 and 11.0 km per hour. He
reactivated his Poi lights before the curve
Mining Up to the 11010100111abill.
Constable Armstrong! 'driving the
Clinton cruiser, testified that 'he went to
Holmesville after receiving the request for
assistance and stopped Ws.. car, on the
Goderich side of .4 the — Holpiesvine,
intersection. klaSen. radioed directly to,
Armstrong when the TransArn came over
the:1101MeaVille hill that that was the car
i being pursued. Armstrong pulled into the
I southeast bound lane of the highway and
moved slowly past the intersection, hoping
to stop the car behind him.
Nicholson, however, turned right into
Hohnesville and then turned right onto,
County Road 18. Armstrong made a U-turn,
and followed Nicholson about 100 to 200
metres behind him with flashing lights on. ,
• Armstrong said his car was fishtailing
on Cciunty Road 18, which turns into a,
gravel road shortly past Holmesville. He
and Mason agreed through radio contact to
let Mason pass him and go on ahead,
travelling about 100 km per hour.
Mason testified that he received a,
transmission from the OPP dispatcher
saying they had a cruiser travelling east
down County Road 18 as he and Armstrong
were driving west down the same road.
Shortly thereafter, at 3:06 a.m., Mason
was radioed and told to proceed to Porter's
Hill, a location on County Road 18, where
the OPP cruiser driven by Const.
Straughan had the TransAm stopped.
Mason replied, "104; I'll be there in a
sec."
Just then Mason crested Porter's Hill,
saw the lights of a police cruiser at the
bottom ofthe hill on the other side, and put
on his brakes. He slid into the TransAm,
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after he came over the top of the hill. he
orb -0e was I applied my
brakesand that was it. The . *Went
happened .as soon. as • I got the
Mason teslifietilhat after the accident
he
he get .out ofhis car etutheard Straughan
shouting
shouting "Buck's down, Buck's down,"
referring to Crew. Mason went back to his
car and radioed for help, saying there was
a , serious personal. injury. This
transmission was only 15 seconds after his
previous one just beforethe accident.
Shortly afterward Mason also radioed to
Armstrong telling him to stop. Armstrong
had been: going Slower, checking
intersections for skid marks off to the side.
However, he got Mason's message just as
he crested Porter's Hill himself, and
although he was only driving 60,0.75 km
per hour, he also slid pad way down the
hill after putting. on his brakes.
CONSTABLE STRAUGHAN
Provincial Constable John Straughan
testified that he and Bruce Crew were .on
Highway 21 south of Goderich when they
received a call about a high speed chase
southbound on Highway 8. Straughan, who
was driving, cut across County Road 18,
going east.
Straughan stopped his cruiser on top of
the hill -just west of the intersection at
Porter's Hill. He said -the TransAm came
over the top of Porter's Hill at a -very fast.
rate of speed. He Observed the car to break
suddenly, change its direction, 'and skid
down to the bottom of the hill sideways.
Straughan said the car's lights kept
going dim as if the driver were trying to
start the engine again. Straughan drove
his car to the bottom of the hill and radioed
to the dispatcher that they had stopped the
suspect car. He said he had, to' zigzag his
. car to the right and left to prevent the
TransArn from passing him, which it tried
todo.
The TransAm finally stopped, and Crew
gotout of the cruiser to walk up to the
other car: Straughan • was. Standing
halfway ' out of the cruiser, and said
• something to Crew like, "Grab the keys,
Buck, grab thg keys:"
• After that, Straughan said, all he- saw
was "a 'glimpse' of light like. a flashlight"
come over Porter's Hill, on the road above
him. He saw gravel thrown on his
,dtothebottomoftheliill; He Oaf
If the Tr.4nsAzn had , therewnoQt u dg -910444144t
he
avine I'm
,car pile up." • - "
uch of the police testimony
c9lltradlcted or made suspect the
testiMody given by. Ni.hol** and
McDonald the first afternoon. The. two
young men maintained throughout
sometimes severe cross-questioning that
they did not know therivere being chased.
" Nicholson . said he was driving out
Highway .8 to go .home to Lueknow, via a
route he- 'sometimes takes . through
Beiuniller. He said he missed the -turn-off
to Beigniller, and went on to Holmesville.
When they got to Holmesville, they saw a
cruiser with flashing lights past the
intersection, and Nicholson said he turned
right forgOarticular reason. He said they
Were lust going for a delve."
Again, When ,the two saw the OPP
cruiser on the other side of Porter's Hill,
they both.testified that they drove down to
the bottom °tele hill and stopped to wait
while the Pollee car pulled in front off them.
Both said that a police officer came out of
the cruiser, pOinted a gun at them and
said, "Halt, or I'll shoot." McDonald, after
he was asked if he were certain it was a
gun, replied that he was "90 per cent
sure."
Nicholson has already been convicted
for driving while impaired and for failing
to stop for a police signal. McDonald has
been convicted for using licence plates not
authorized for a motorvehicle.
RECOMMENDATIONS
During. the inquest there were four
lawyers cross-examining the 'witnesses,
the lifters; representing the Attorney -
General of Ontario, Mrs. Crew and her
family, Wayne McDonald and his car
insurance company, and the town police.
Crown, Attorney Garry Hunter and
Coroner Dr. Raymond Flowers asked
questions of the witnesses and made
closing statements as well.
All six closing statements centred on the
reconunendahons that each felt were
important. Five stressed the importance
of having direct communications between
police vehicles in emergency situations. If
Mason had been contacted directly by the
OPP cruiser when the TransAm was
stopped at the bottom of the hill, it was
•
iad a few
checkand
14s1 to er'snill.
anania also
of training
the area of high
0 re
teem rec
pee ; ParsOit,
received no spec
While at the Qnta
Mistier,. but 'he J;10
Course offered.
that he
...A training
-P�lice College Lves there is now n
only,.,,training was a
short one -day getirse-i04010.0ive. driving.
The jury's fourtk..,reeoiriinendation was
picked up from Dr. Flowers' closing
statement. He said the . present deterents
and fines for impaired charges are
▪ not enough, and suggested that drunk
drivers have their licences "suspended for
years",
to be resigned only when it is
proven that the drivers are safe to society:
Besides making recommendations, the
main duty of the coroner's jury is to
determine the cause of death. The jury
found that Crew died from injuries
sustained during a collision involving two
police cruisers and a civilian vehicle.
Dr. Murray Treloar, a Stratford
pathologist . who performed the autopsy on
Crew, • said the cause of death was a
fractured spine and fractured ribs on both
sides. He said Crew suffered from a
disease causing rigidity of the spine, and
that. "some of the spinal fractures may be
attributable to this disease." But he must
have received a substantial blow to sustain
the rib fractures, and they alone would
have been enough to cause death. -
A copy of the jury's verdict will be sent
to the Chief Coroner of Ontario.
The Coroner's jury made the following
recommendations:
1) That all efforts to complete the Provin-
cial Common Radio Network be given
highest priority and, if possible, be ex-
pedited to permit direct conununication
of-
ficers; Ontario and Municipal police of -
.2) That training of law enforcement of-
ficers in the strategy of pursuit,.and skills of
high speed, and defensive driving be man-
datory, and that such training include both
theoretical and practical experience, and
compulsory re-training on a regular basis;
3) That measures such as the installation
of warning signs and guard rails be con-
sidered for the hazardous section of County
Road 18 in the vicinity of Porter's Hill;
4) That measures •(such as increased en-
forcement and more severe penalties) and
progranitnes (such as public awareness and
education) to discourage "drinking .and
driving" be continued and stressed.
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