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C CNA BETTER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION 2000 www.oakvillebeaver.com AVER " Speedy-- Brake Pads or Shoes from iNCLUDeC A D a y A t C o ffe e H o u s e H e n d e r v a le F o r Y o u th s 'S eem anager for details. 112 Speers Rd., Oakville FOCUS Vol. 39 No. 88 WEDNESDAY, JULY 25,2001 Mercedes-Benz AMetroland Publicati Man fighting for life after crash Car ran through bus shelter where Scott Coulter was waiting By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A 25-year-old Oakville man was desperately clinging to life yesterday, the day after an out-of-control car demolished the Speers Road bus shel ter he'd been standing in on Monday afternoon. Scott Coulter, 25, of Kent Avenue in Oakville "had been waiting for the bus," said investigating officer Det.Const. Steve Martin of the Halton Regional Police regional traffic unit. Instead, Coulter was whisked from the accident scene in an ambulance to the Oakville hospital, then quickly transferred to Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where he remained in critical condition yester day. "It's touch and go whether he's going to make it," said Halton Regional Police Sgt. Larry Brassard. "He's still hanging in there, but he sustained what are considered to be life-threatening injuries. However Sunnybrook is one of the finest hospitals in the province." Police haven't been able to talk to Coulter about what happened. The 18-year-old driver of the car, Ibrahim Kesebi o f Maurice Drive remains in Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital in stable condition. "He's there for observation," said Martin. Just before 2 p.m., following a rain shower in the sweltering afternoon heat. Coulter was standing inside the bus shelter in front of Holmar Plumbing Supplies Inc. and across from Buns Master Bakery. Instead of the bus rumbling along, from seemingly out of nowhere a beige Mercury Topaz left the road, jumped the curb and ripped through the shelter. The car's front tires came to rest on the (See `Accident' page A4) Photo by Christine Smyth A Halton Regional Police officer examines the aftermath of Monday afternoon crash that left 25-year-old Oakville man with life-threatening injuries. L ig h tn in g c la im s tw o T o r o n to m e n By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Two Toronto men were killed by lightning after taking shelter from Sunday's storm under a tree in Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Eugene Henriques, 46, and Manuel Da Silva, 4?, were enjoying a family pic nic when a violent thunder storm rolled through the region around 2:30 p.m. They took refuge from the downpour but were knocked to the ground after light ning struck the tree under which they stood. "It was a terrible, unfortunate acci dent," said OPP Const. Sonya Siebert. Other witnesses nearby were also pro pelled to the ground by the force of the strike but fortunately were not injured. Other bystanders ran to the aid of the Toronto men and administered CPR, but to no effect. Pandemonium reigned as P ic n ic a t B r o n te C re e k P a r k tu r n s to tr a g e d y w h e n m e n s o u g h t s h e lte r fr o m s to r m u n d e r tr e e angle." Terrified park visitors fled the scene as emergency personnel did their jobs, their flashing lights and sirens adding to the tumult. "Traffic was everywhere. People were trying to leave the park fast because of the lightning strikes," said Boddington. "I've never seen anything like it." Oakville Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Bob 5umak explained that when his crews were summoned to the scene by Halton Ambulance Services, the Burlington Fire Department was already there. "It was raining and pouring and just a great turmoil of branches and leaves blowing all over," said Sumak, who explained that the victims were quickly attended to by paramedics then rushed to hospital. With everything under control, the firefighters were freed up to handle a dozen other calls were in addition to the 40 or so calls coming in on the after hours Public Works line. "When something like this happens, all hell breaks loose for a short period of time and you have to deal with it," said Sumak. During a downpour just prior to the fatal lightning strike, a family, which had been enjoying the park, headed for their vehicle but their two children became separated and were lost for a time. Burlington Detachment OPP offi cers, who regularly patrol the park, were on the scene and found them before the clouds massed again and the lightning started. "The rain was just torrential," said Const. Siebert. (See `Safety' page A2) guests of the park ran through the slash ing rain for their cars as lightning contin ued to flash. Emergency crews responded to the scene and the men were rushed to Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Hundreds of people were reportedly in the park at the time. Acting Park Superintendent Dave Boddington was notified about the inci dent and he arrived at the scene just after 3 p.m. * "It was completely chaotic. You couldn't see five feet in front of your face," said Boddington. "The rain looked like it was coming at us from a 90-degree Boy reported `inappropriate' act Halton Regional Police are asking the public's assistance in connection with what they're calling an "inap propriate encounter" between a man and a nine-year old boy. A ccording to investigators, the incident took place on Friday around 3:30 p.m. when the boy was riding his bicycle near H eritage G len School. W hile the boy was stopped in front o f the school, an unknown man stopped his car and approached him. The man then lifted the youngster off his bike and onto his shoulders and began walking toward the back of the school. The boy began to com plain and struggle, however, at which point the man carried to boy back to his bicycle. The boy, who was not injured, rode home and reported the incident. The suspect is described as a white male, 27 to 33 years old, 5 ' 6" to 5 ' 8" who is bald, with no facial hair, no glasses and wearing a white tank top, black knee-length shorts and a silver Swiss army watch which had a gold ring around its face. The suspect is believed to have been operating a white motor vehicle. Anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who has information leading to the suspect is encouraged to call the O akville Crim inal Investigations Bureau at 825-4747 ext. 2275. Photo by Riziero Vertolli Acting Bronte Creek Provincial Park Superintendant Dave Boddington checks out tree where two Toronto men were struck by lightning Sunday afternoon. IN S ID E today'spaper Focus... Homes &Gardens............. B6 Entertainment______ _____ C1 Classified __________C4 Business... Automotive.. Sports... NOW L E T 'S SEE: Coolmore Lanceros, checks out some riding information Saturday during an equestrian event at Hendervale Stables. The course looks pretty complicated but w e're sure CL (as he's known) has no trouble in figuring it out. Photo by Brent Foster Lightning strike knocks out Beaver phone lines The violent storm that moved through Oakville on Sunday afternoon also took its toll on the telephone system of the Oakville Beaver. A power surge caused by a lightning strike knocked out our main telephone circuits. The result was that from 2 p.m. Sunday to 2 p.m. yesterday, it was impossible for any incoming or outgoing calls to be connected. 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