Opinion: Roadside tragedy

Monday's horrific accident on Trafalgar Road serves as a stark reminder that tragedy can strike anywhere, anytime and without warning. What began as a typically cold late winter morning, turned into a day of despair for several families and undoubtedly changed the lives of many in an instant. In very short order gusting winds and snow turned a short stretch of Trafalgar Road, between 5 Sideroad and 10 Sideroad, into a treacherous piece of roadway, catching drivers off-guard and starting a chain of events that would end in the deaths of two people and seriously injuring a third. When a minivan, carrying a woman and her young daughter, left the road and landed in the east ditch Richard Pyman, of Ballinafad, and Elyse Schultz, of Acton did what we hope most people would do-- they attempted to lend aid to the driver of the minivan. According to police reports, Pyman, Schultz, a police officer and other citizens helped the pair escape their overturned minivan, and ushered them to the back of a police cruiser. Seconds later, as Pyman, Schulz, a Fonthill woman, another man and the officer stood behind the cruiser, the driver of a Ford Focus, unaware of the havoc ahead, struck three of the citizens, killing Pyman and Schultz and seriously injuring the Fonthill woman. This was a tragedy for all involved. We wonder how, if at all, this accident could have been avoided. Conditions further south on Trafalgar Road were much better at the time of the accident. Drivers heading into the stretch between 5 Sideroad and 10 Sideroad, literally drove into a blizzard, not knowing how bad the conditions were until there was no turning back. One driver, heading south, narrowly avoided hitting a police cruiser which had blocked off Trafalgar Road at 10 Sideroad and wound up stuck on a metre-high snowbank-- just yards from our photographer's vehicle. While we urge all drivers to use extra caution in winter conditions we can't but think that sometimes, accidents simply happen. That, however, is little solace to those who must now deal with the aftereffects of this tragedy.