Ontario Provincial Police say that a man was changing a flat tire on March 6 when a vehicle struck and killed him. The accident happened shortly after 3 a.m. on Highway 400, prompting police to close the southbound lanes for several hours during their investigation.
According to the initial police report, the 48-year-old man had pulled his vehicle all the way onto the shoulder and turned on his vehicle’s four-way hazard lights. However, another southbound vehicle crossed onto the shoulder and hit him while he worked on the front driver’s side tire. The man, whose identity remained unknown pending notification of his family, died on-site near Black Creek Drive. The other driver was hospitalised with minor injuries. After the accident, OPP advised drivers who need to pull over for flat tires to try to move away from fast-moving traffic as much as they can before working on their vehicles. As an alternative, they could stay in their vehicles and phone 911 for assistance.
This was not the only crash in Ontario on March 6 involving a pedestrian. On Winston Churchill Boulevard in Mississauga, there was a fatal pedestrian accident reported around 5:30 a.m. This incident involved the fourth person to die in pedestrian crashes on Greater Toronto Area roads in the span of only a few days.
Pedestrians may be at risk of suffering serious and fatal injuries when they are struck with vehicle especially when those vehicles are travelling at highway speeds. When pedestrians are killed, their immediate family members could file wrongful death claims in pursuit of compensation for the damages that they and their deceased loved ones suffered. Lawyers might be retained to help the family members through the process.
Source: BlackburnNews.com, “Man struck, killed changing tire on Hwy 400,” March 6, 2015
