Acton baby dies in Caledon car crash

A serious crash involving a dump truck and a car on Highway 10 in Caledon Friday has claimed the life of a one-month-old Acton boy. At 12:38 p.m., Caledon OPP and fire and emergency services personnel rushed to the scene of a horrific accident on Highway 10 south of Olde Base Line Road that shut down the northbound and southbound lanes of Highway 10 between The Grange Sideroad and Boston Mills Road for several hours while police investigated. The crash sent one-month-old Tyler Irwin, of Acton, to Headwaters Health Care Centre, but police say he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. His mother, 26-year-old Melissa Irwin, of Acton, was also transported to Headwaters in Orangeville, but later had to be airlifted to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, suffering from critical injuries. Police say the accident occurred when a blue dump truck, which had been travelling southbound on Highway 10, south of Olde Base Line Road, collided with a blue four-door Mazda that had pulled out of a private driveway on the west side of Highway 10. The dump truck `T-boned' the driver's side of the Mazda when the vehicle was crossing over Highway 10, said OPP Constable Linda Kennedy. Caledon Fire and Emergency Services say the mother was trapped inside the Mazda for 20 minutes before emergency crews were able to free her.

The infant had been removed from the vehicle by a concerned passerby who came upon the accident and found the baby suffering from critical injuries, fire officials said. The baby had been seated in a properly-installed child seat at the time of the accident, Constable Kennedy confirmed, adding that police inspectors had no issue regarding the child's seating restraints. The driver of the dump truck, Larry Parsons, 44, of Brampton, received minor injuries, fire officials said and was treated on site by Peel paramedics. "A lot of officers have been asking about how the mother is," Kennedy said, "... officers are very concerned. "This (tragedy) has definitely affected a lot of people." As of Tuesday morning, the infant's mother was still in hospital but is expected to make a full recovery, police said. Funeral details for the son were not known at press time. Caledon OPP and OPP Technical Collision Investigators are continuing their investigation and no charges have been laid at this time. Any further witnesses to the collision are asked to contact Caledon OPP Sergeant Nicol Randall at 905-584-2241.