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8- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 20, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Police still investigating cause of wheel separation Continued from page 1 weighed as much as 455 kgs ­ separated from the axle. According to OPP Burlington Detachment Media Relations Officer, Highway Safety Division, Const. Dave Woodford, the mechanical inspection of the truck in question could take days or weeks depending how difficult it is to ascertain the cause of the wheel separation. A search warrant necessary to conduct the inspection must be obtained first. In addition to the mechanical inspection, the investigation will include a review of maintenance records and the records kept of the driver's pre-trip inspection. (Every driver is required to conduct such an inspection prior to setting out.) "It could be a couple of weeks before we have answers," said Const. Woodford, who explained that all these findings must be assembled before any potential charges are laid. All this, he added, could take a month. If last week's tragedy was the result of an improper pre-trip inspection, the driver will be charged. The trucking company would be charged if the accident resulted from improp- er maintenance. Investigators explained that it was around 9:10 p.m. when a tractortrailer traveling eastbound on the QEW lost a set of rear dual wheels from its trailer. The tires bounced over the center median into the westbound lanes just east of the Third Line and struck a 2003 Mercedes head-on, after which the car ended up in the right ditch, said Const. Woodford. The tires subsequently collided with the cab of another tractor trailer owned by Canada Cartage then broke a strap holding its load of ply- Naked man delayed Saturday GO train service A naked man, who caused a commotion at the Oakville GO station on Saturday, briefly delayed train service and shocked commuters on hand at the time. According to CN Rail spokesperson Ian Thomson, CN Police received a call around 1 p.m. about a man who attempted to jump in front of a VIA train. He then went aboard a stopped GO train, ascended to the second level, popped out a window and climbed onto the top of the car. By this point, he was naked. He then jumped to the roof of the station where CN and Halton Regional Police took him into custody and transported him to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital for observation. Thomson said train service was delayed only 15 to 20 minutes. wood in place, some of which was dumped on the roadway. Shaken up but unhurt, said Woodford, this driver used good driving skills to prevent further mayhem ­ such as a jack-knifed truck ­ and stop his vehicle safely. The OPP stopped the tractor-trailer that lost its tires a distance down the highway in Port Credit and was immediately impounded by police for inspection. Given the fact the truck had 22 wheels remaining, its driver may not have known his rig had lost two. Police closed the westbound lanes of the QEW at the Third Line for three hours as they investigated the crash. Charges are pending. The OPP is asking any witnesses to contact Const. Rossit at the Burlington Detachment, 905-6812511. Following an alarming number of wheel separations in the mid-1990s, the provincial government cracked down and legislated fines as high as $50,000 for wheel and truck safetyrelated infractions in 1997. That same year, however, saw several incidents in Oakville ranging from nearmisses to personal injuries sustained as a result of flying truck wheels. In August 1997, for example, charges were laid against a Don Mills company in connection with an incident a month earlier in which an Oakville man was severely injured by a separated truck wheel. In April of that same year a set of wheels from a tractor trailer crossed several lanes of Hwy 403 but came to rest in the median before any people or property were injured or damaged. Charges were laid against a Halifax truck company as well as the driver. In October 1997, a tractor trailer driver had to make an emergency stop on the Dorval Drive ramp off the QEW before its rear wheels completely separated. No one was injured, although the trucking company was charged.