The Sound of Death

I was nearing the end of my route on last Wednesday when I encountered a detour on my way to Dr. Shaughnessy's dental office. I had come across Rebecca Street and up Fourth Line when traffic began to slow. There were a number of police officers along the way directing traffic at the intersections south of Speers Road.

When I arrive at Speers I normally turn left and drive about 300 metres west to Dr. Shaughnessy's office. But an officer with his patrol car was blocking the way. Vehicles could only go southbound or eastbound.

So I had a choice... either skip the delivery because my access was blocked or park at the mall on the southeast corner and walk the 300 metres to his office. Now, if my delivery was heavy, I probably would have skipped it. But I only had to bring them 25 large hand towels. Not too bad. So I parked and began walking.

Actually, I had some idea of what was going on beforehand. I had been listening to the radio in the van while driving and there was some news, but it was kind of sketchy. CBC reported that a vehicle had hit someone and they had died. I heard other reports that it was a dump truck that hit an elderly lady who died.

Other than nearly a dozen police vehicles parked in front of Dr. Shaughnessy's office building, there was hardly any traffic around. At 4:00 in the afternoon Speers Road is normally buzzing. Other than idle chatter from a few onlookers and squawking from the police radios, it was eerily quiet.

When I got to Dr. Shaughnessy's office there was one or two patients there. But the office was mostly empty save the staff members looking out the second storey window onto the scene. I told them I didn't think any of the remaining afternoon patients would be coming. I said that I had parked down the street and walked in. I mentioned people could probably leave the building in their vehicles, but not come in.

One of the hygienists commented that there was a bus stop in front of the office building and sometimes people would run across the street to catch the bus. We suspect that's what may have happened.

On my way back I saw the truck. It wasn't a dump truck per se, but on of those disposal trucks with a large bin on the back. I also believe I saw the driver. He didn't look too old. A slightly heavyset fellow, maybe in his 30's. He was sitting by a large for lease sign on the front lawn of the building. Another man was consoling him.

As I neared my truck at the intersection of Speers and Fourth Line the quietness was soon overtaken by the noisiness of the backed up traffic. Life was returning to normal, only it wasn't quite so.

Little Accident

Mom and Dad.

It finally happened. After many, many years of uneventful activities (which included weekly outings to the local arena in winter), my mother actually sustained an injury serious enough to require being put in a cast. Last Saturday she fell while skating and broke her wrist.

I got the call the next morning when I was getting ready to meet up with my friends for lunch. My mother phoned to tell me the news. After she fell she had called my sister to ask her to take her to the hospital. She would be required to wear a cast for six weeks.

Thank goodness the pain was limited to the evening of the accident. The awkwardness of wearing the cast is the worst thing so far. It seriously limits her ability to pick up and hold things. I'm sure that's for the best. It'll give her wrist a better chance of healing properly.

She's already had the cast changed once. The new one is a little less cumbersome, so that's good. Here's hoping for a full and complete recovery.

Wow... surprise...

Here's a Facebook post from after I posted the story of the aforementioned car rollover in Barrie. In an amazing coincidence the girl I went to check up on is the niece of a friend and former co-worker of mine at Trader. What are the chances of that?
____________________________________________

Reay Jespersen - Old coworker/friend Jeff Louie, it's my honour to introduce you to Devan Brophy, my (step-)niece whose car rolled yesterday and who you were awesome enough to stop and check on. Small world. 
Not sure if there's any easy way for you guys to talk, but suffice to say, Devan: Very happy you're ok. Jeff: You're a better man than most for stopping to help someone in need when most people didn't.
Like  · Share · 25 March at 13:54 ·

Devan Brophy, Steve LeBlanc, Marcy Zee and 15 others like this.

Devan Brophy - Haha thank you. I have messaged him to say thanks for stopping. I can't believe he found my purse outside of the car. . I couldn't figure out why it was full of snow. Like HOW did my purse fly out??? It was in the seat beside me

25 March at 14:14 · Like

Reay Jespersen - Crazy. SO glad you're ok.

25 March at 14:20 · Like · 1

Trudy Lamport - Thank you to Jeff for stopping. We are so very lucky Devan is ok. Everyone who stopped we are so very thankful for them !!!

25 March at 15:01 · Unlike · 1

Jeff Louie - Hi Devan. I'm glad you're all right. When the other gentleman asked if you were okay, you said you were, but you might be a bit dizzy from being flipped around. I saw all your stuff including your purse/bag and sunglasses on the side. I was thinking I should help you pick them up, but I thought the police might not want anything from the accident scene to be moved around. I hope you managed to find everything before it got too dark. I think I saw a police car coming up to the scene around 10-15 minutes later.

25 March at 17:41 · Like

Marcy Zee - You're a hero Jeff Louie

25 March at 18:56 · Unlike · 1

Michael Heyoka Ratt - You rock Jeff Louie.

25 March at 19:18 · Unlike · 1



Jeff Louie - Thanks guys that's nice of you to say. I'm just glad Devan is okay.

25 March at 23:19 · Like · 1

Jeremy Weise - Its Jeff Louie, the nicest guy in the world, of course he would stop!!!

26 March at 09:26 · Unlike · 1



Travis Gibbons - Nice one, Louie!

26 March at 09:33 · Unlike · 1

Elisa Krovblit - Wow, small world. And glad she's ok!

26 March at 10:23 · Unlike · 1

The Accident

I believe the accident happened somewhere along the blue line on the sb lanes of Hwy. 400.

So I'm driving south on Highway 400 on Monday afternoon around 5:40 p.m. after my last delivery in Barrie. Conditions are good. There isn't any snow on the highway and visibility is clear. Since it's not congested traffic is moving at a good clip - probably 100-120 kph. I'm looking ahead when I see something happening approximately 300 metres down the road.

Since I was a fair distance away and it happened quickly I didn't get a good view. All I see a big puff of snow from a vehicle that just ploughed through the snowbank (2-3 feet high) on the shoulder. (There's still a lot of snow in Barrie even though there isn't much in Toronto). Things (snow and other items) were flying all around. I believe it did at least one flip (but probably more) before coming to rest.

Even though I was kind of in a hurry to get back to the city I figured I'd better stop. A lot of cars had slowed down, but most kept going. When I got there one car had stopped on the right shoulder. A lady was standing beside it not doing much. Another car had stopped on the left shoulder. A man got out and put on a yellow safety vest and tried to cross three lanes of traffic. He made it across without too much trouble. One car had to hit the brakes to avoid running him over. But, most cars had slowed down a lot by this time.

Upon arrival at the scene I was preparing myself to extricate an injured person/persons from a car. But by the time I pulled over on the shoulder, put my hazard lights on and got out of my van a young lady with brown hair (perhaps in her late 20s or early 30s) had already gotten out of the driver's side and was walking around. Miraculously, she didn't seem injured at all.

The man and I approached her not walking too quickly since there was still a bit of snow on the side of the highway (perhaps 6-12 inches) and it wasn't easy to walk through. Besides, we saw that she wasn't in distress so the situation didn't seem urgent. The man spoke first. He asked her how she was. She said she felt all right. Maybe a little bit dizzy because her car had flipped over (at least once even though it had landed upright).

Stuff was strewn all over the place. The car was damaged. Not heavily. The trunk was kind of crunched. It was fully open and the contents were all around. Maybe she had just gone shopping. I noticed her bag and sunglass a bit further away. They probably came out of the interior of her car.

Since the young lady looked okay and I was in a bit of a hurry to get back to Toronto I asked if they needed me to stay. The man said they were all right. I guess they could handle things from there. I believe the guy was on the phone when I took off. The other lady was still standing by her car on the shoulder of the highway.

I was considering helping the girl pick up her belongings as I walked by them on the way back to my vehicle. But I thought I should leave them in case the investigator (when he/she came) wanted to take pictures of things where they lay. I hoped someone would get there soon because the light was starting to dim. It would be hard to take pictures and even harder to find/pick everything up afterwards.

I didn't see how the accident happened. I'm not sure if all three of them were involved. I noticed a bit of damage on the passenger-side front bumper of the guy's car as I was driving away.

Green means "go"?

This message is directed towards everyone out there. But, it pertains mostly to pedestrians and cyclists.

What does a green light mean? Most people would say, go. And you wouldn't be incorrect in saying that. But, I'm here to suggest, green doesn't mean go. It means look both ways and when the way is clear, then you go.

A long time has passed since the accident. It was about twenty-five years ago, around this time of year, just before Christmas. At the time my kid sister was just a teenager. She had been out and was returning home by public transit. After she got off the bus, she crossed the street with the light, but was hit by a car driven by a lady who wasn't paying attention and went through the red. My sister was knocked unconscious and sustained serious leg injuries (two broken legs).

For our family waiting at the hospital not knowing what was going on was the worst feeling you could ever have. My sister was a bright, highly intelligent, young person who had a very promising future ahead of her. We had no idea of the extent of her injuries at first. Her whole life, and ours, could have made a drastic turn for the worse. Thankfully she made a full recovery. I'm so happy about that. In cases like this it could have just as easily gone the other way.

Anyway, I'm sure you've all gotten the point. You know what to do. At an intersection Green means, look both ways and when the way is clear, then you go.

Drivers vs. Cyclists

Not long ago there was an incident where a cyclist, Darcy Allan Sheppard, was killed while riding his bicycle in downtown Toronto (memorial pictured above). He was originally involved in an accident with the former attorney-general of Ontario, Michael Bryant. As the story goes, Mr. Bryant was driving home with his wife, Susan Abramovitch, after dinner when something happened between himself and Mr. Sheppard. The details aren't clear yet, but, to make a long story short, tempers flared and things got out of hand. Mr. Sheppard was subsequently dragged hitting his head, sustaining serious injury which led to his tragic passing.

Cyclists' rights advocates had a field day with this. They charged that drivers don't respect cyclists and that they're a menace to everyone on the roads. I find it more than distasteful that they're using this particular event to try and bolster support for their cause. Especially after they tried to paint Mr. Bryant as the sole contributor to this tragedy. They conveniently forgot that earlier that evening police were called to Mr. Sheppard's girlfriend's place to quell a domestic disturbance in which Mr. Sheppard was apparently intoxicated. Anyone who doesn't believe this played a part in this unfortunate incident is fooling themselves.

It's true... cycling in any urban setting can be dangerous. And, drivers do make mistakes. It does happen. I, personally, have been hit by cars on more than one occasion*. But, we as cyclists, have to do our part as well. Let me first say, I'm an avid cyclist and this isn't an anti-cyclist rant, but I see many other less experienced cyclists making all sorts of dumb mistakes. One major no-no is passing a vehicle entering into an intersection on the right. If he goes straight, you're lucky. But, if he makes a turn, you're only asking to get your ass knocked to the ground. Don't be stupid, don't take that chance. If you're impatient enough not to want to wait (like I usually am), check your blindspot and pass on the left. As well, you have to be aware of your surroundings. Don't cut in and out of traffic without first looking behind you. That goes without saying. Signaling is good too. Just as I hate it when drivers don't signal turns, it's not good when cyclists don't do it either. I signal right turns, left turns and even lane changes. If a driver knows what you're going to do he can give you space to do it. Lastly, try to obey traffic signals/signs once in awhile. If you want respect, you're not going to get it by blowing through stop signs, red lights or crosswalks while someone is walking by. If you want to escalate the animosity between drivers and cyclists (not to mention the cops) this is a good way to do it. Respect isn't a God-given right, it has to be earned.

A few other safety tips - Be visible at night. A bright headlight and tail light are necessities. Be careful of sewer grates and streetcar tracks. Try to cross on as much of a perpendicular angle as is safely possible and "float" over tracks by lightening the weight on your front wheel by shifting your weight backwards a bit. In the rain try not to brake hard on any surfaces that have road paint on them as they become much slipperier. As well, you should wear a helmet (that fits snugly). It may be uncomfortable or look dorky. Better that than having your brains splattered on the pavement should you fall and hit your head. It saved my life once. Who knows... maybe it'll save yours.

*As for the times I was hit by cars... once it was my fault, once it was the driver's. When the time comes we have to own up to our mistakes. We have to take responsibility for them and learn from them. You won't last long if you continue doing stupid things on the roads.