Collision occurs due to obstructed views

Obstructed views at the intersection of Mornelle Court and Ellesmere Road could potentially cause a serious accident, says a local police officer.

Const. Amarjit Singh, of 43 Division, was commenting in the wake of a Nov. 4 accident at the intersection that sent one person to hospital with minor injuries and another charged.

This city bus can potentially obstruct drivers’ views travelling
eastbound and those exiting Mornelle Court, ahead right.

Extra-special care needs to be taken when large vehicles or buses are travelling west-bound up the hill because they have the potential to block the view of drivers stopped at the Mornelle exit, and those heading east-bound down the hill.

The early November incident saw a female driver in a red Honda made a left-hand turn out of Mornelle Court onto Ellesmere Road despite the fact her view was blocked by a bus heading west in the far right lane.

According to Singh, a white cube truck was travelling eastbound on the inside lane. The driver could not see the Honda inching out of the court because of the westbound bus.

As a result, the cube truck driver clipped the front end of the Honda attempting to turn into his lane.

“The truck was travelling about 55 kilometres per hour when it hit the passenger side of the Honda,” Singh said.

Both drivers’ views were obstructed.

“If the bus, or large vehicle, had not been there, this accident would not have happened,” Singh said.

After colliding, both the Honda and the truck darted across two lanes of oncoming, west-bound traffic. The truck ended up plowing into the green, wood and chain-linked fence bordering Mornelle Court.

There were two people in the white cube truck.

“The driver of the truck was sent to hospital, and the passenger went along,” Singh said. “He’ll be OK. They’re just shaken up right now. It’s normal for people to be shaken up after an accident.”

The driver of the Honda, who refused to give her name, said she was cautious as she inched into the left-hand turn onto Ellesmere Road.

There were a few factors to consider before Singh could decide whether or not to charge the driver of the Honda.

According to Singh, he has to put the pieces of the accident together like a puzzle. For example, the truck’s front left tire was blown.

“Did the tire blow before, during or after the accident? Also, I noticed it’s off its rim,” Singh said. “The truck is white. White vehicles are more difficult to see, this too could have played a factor.

“This was a fairly simple traffic accident. So it’s a little easier to dissect this type of scene.”

After all was said and done, Singh charged the driver of the Honda with failure to yield to traffic on a through highway.

Her vision was obstructed and she should have waited for the bus to clear out of view to ensure no traffic was in the inside lane, according to Singh.

According to Singh, since the driver of the cube truck has not contacted police to follow up about the accident, it is safe to say he was either not admitted to the hospital or has already been discharged.

The intersection in question it too close to the intersection of Morningside and Ellesmere Roads to have a light put in, and additional signage may only add to the obstructed view.

According to Councillor Paul Ainslie’s executive assistant, Antonette DiNovo, this issue will be dealt with.

“Our transportation division will visit the site, and they will do some reports for us,” she said.

“If something is needed, like signage or a light, the division will go to community council and ask for what it is they need. If they don’t need approval by council they will go ahead and fix it themselves.”

About this article

By: Bailey Stead
Posted: Nov 16 2008 10:59 am
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Filed under: News