
September 29, 2017 · 0 Comments
IF EVER THERE WAS A NEED for an immediate inquest into a fatality, this was it.
The police investigation into the death September 14 death of of Thomas Mason concluded that the primary cause of the fatality was changing traffic signals.
The 37-year-old Orangeville resident was waiting to turn left onto Dufferin 109 when the car ahead of his started turning left as the light turned amber. At that same moment, a southbound dump truck tried to beat the light, swerved to avoid the turning car, lost control and slammed into Mr. Mason’s pickup truck, killing him instantly.
Such a crash has been rendered virtually impossible at the Highway 9 intersection in Mono Mills and the Inglewood corner on Highway 10, by restricting left turns to a signal phase when there is no through traffic.
An immediate inquest could subpoena Ministry of Transportation witnesses to explain why the 10/109 intersection signals lack the vital safety measure despite the fact there is even more rush-hour turning there than at either Inglewood or Mono Mills.
And perhaps a jury recommendation might finally result in corrective measures being taken before more lives are lost.