Another fatality related to a post-collision fire has occurred this morning, October 3, 2019, on Simcoe Street just north of its intersection with Old Simcoe Road, north of Oshawa, Ontario. While police reported that this was a head-on collision it was not quite so. A white pick-up truck had been heading northbound on Simcoe Street when its driver likely lost directional control of the truck causing it to rotate into the southbound lane and into the path of a white Volkswagen, reportedly occupied by an elderly couple. There was substantial, direct-contact crush across the complete front end of the southbound car confirming that it was not a typical, front-end to front-end impact. Typical front-end to front-end impacts would involve off-sets of the striking ends and therefore you would see more crush at one corner than the other, there would be bowing of the non-contacted corner and the profile between the direct and induced damage would be clearly imprinted in the vehicle’s front end. The characteristics of damage on the car’s front end was indicative of an impact to the side of the Pick-up and this could be confirmed by looking at the bowed right side of the Pick-up even though police had covered it in a tarp.
Screen capture taken from news media video showing the striking vehicles at their final rest positions on Simcoe St.
A roadside interview of Constable George Tudos, representing Durham Regional Police, confirmed what would be expected in the manner that the police investigation was carried out. Instead of focusing on why the Pick-up truck caught fire and therefore caused the fatal injuries to its driver, Constable Tudos focused the media’s attention on their attempts to determine if speed, alcohol or slippery road conditions may have led to the collision. This is typical of the actions of police who fail to understand the importance of collision-related fires and the need to document them so they may be prevented.
Earlier today Gorski Consulting reported how another, double-fatal collision occurred on Hwy 406 in the Thorold area and where the possibility of a fire leading to the deaths of two occupants was not properly discussed. When police do not provide the essential information, and when news media no longer have the investigative capabilities to conduct their own inquiries, the public is kept in the dark. Post-collision fires appear to be occurring in more numbers than they did years before yet no one who has the capability to identify the extent of the problem.
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