Friday, November 30, 2007

Coughing fit contributed to fatal accident

Timmins Police Service says no charges are warranted in the accident that killed a ten year old Timmins girl and sent another child to hospital on October 29.
In a statement released by Timmins Police it appears "an extreme coughing seizure resulted in the driver passing out" for a few brief moments.
“All of the evidence collected and interviews conducted appear to corroborate the information provided by the driver of the vehicle that struck Amelie Guertin and passengers inside the vehicle,” the police statement said.
“All evidence collected from the scene, driver, witnesses and vehicle’s data recorder support this conclusion and police can find no other reason why the accident happened.”
Amelie Guertin died from injuries she received in October as she and another girl walked home from school on Power Avenue. As the two girls were walking, a pickup truck came up from behind and hit the two girls before it crashed into the schoolyard fence where it came to a stop.
The other child in the accident was hurt, but she survived her injuries.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Dog Rescued - Fire on Westmount


A small dog was rescued after a garage fire occurred on Westmount Boulevard today. The garage was destroyed. There was heavy smoke damage and minor fire damage to the adjacent house. No one was home, but neighbors told firefighters there was a dog in the house. The little pooch was found on the smoky main floor and brought outside, Firefighters placed the animal in a warm van until the owners arrived.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Construction accident

A Timmins construction worker was rushed to Timmins and District Hospital this morning after an incident at a construction site on the retail property next to the Home Depot store on Highway 101 West. Timmins firefighters responded to the incident after being told a man was pinned beneath a boom truck. The incident is being investigated by Timmins Police and Ontario Ministry of Labour. Cy Rheault Construction Ltd. of Timmins claimed to be the contractor on the site.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Fire on Waterloo

There was a four-alarm fire just after one oclock this afternoon at the old Canadian Tire store building on Waterloo Road. The building was in the process of being renovated for new businesses. As yet, no information is available on the cause of the fire but the initial call said fire was "in the walls". Firefighters responded quickly and used axes and power saws to break into the walls and roof of the building.

Investigation into mining fatality continues

The investigation continues into the death of a miner at the newest mining operation in the city, the Liberty Mines Redstone nickel mine in Eldorado Township.
According to information from Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Labour, 46 year old Calvin “Cal” Parkinson died sometime shortly after eight oclock Saturday morning. He was working near the 1300 foot level of the mine.
According to police and the Ministry of Labour, a large piece of heavy equipment was involved in the accident. Ontario Ministry of Labour spokesperson Bruce Skeaf says it appears the victim may have been hit by a six-yard scooptram. A scooptram is normally used for ore haulage and dumping, and also to remove muck from freshly blasted drifts.
Skeaf says the scene of the accident has been roped off until a ministry investigator can examine the scene thoroughly. All information and evidence gathered will be presented at a coroner’s inquest, to be held at a later date. Under the Coroner’s Act in Ontario, an inquest must be held whenever a miner is killed on the job.
Parkinson lived in Timmins. He is survived by his wife and four sons. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Miron Wilson funeral home in Timmins.
This is the third mining death in the Timmins area this year. In July 25-year old Lyle Dufoe died at Xstrata’s Kidd Mine when the scooptram he was on went over the edge of a deep stope that was being backfilled. In October, 38-year old Dennis Cloutier died from injuries after he was hit by a piece of falling rock, in a raise, at the Porcupine Gold Mine’s Hoyle Pond mine.
As yet, no information has been released on when inquests will be held into either of those deaths. It is not unusual for inquests to occur up to a year after a death has occurred in the workplace.

Trapper warns of coyote problem in Timmins

A well-known and respected local trapper says Timmins area residents need to be mindful of the “coyote problem” in the city.
Bill Russell says the latest incident, where a dog was attacked Friday night, “is typical” as winter is setting in and the animals are getting hungry and desperate.
“It’s not a new problem,” says trapper Russell, “a bunch of them took down an elk this past summer.” Russell says he was called out to a local resort park after coyotes killed a pregnant elk.
The Friday night incident occurred outside a home on Sandy Falls road as the owner Duane Shannon was putting up Christmas lights with the help of his son Nikolas. Their dog Riley, a golden retriever, was romping in the snow nearby.
Suddenly nearby in the darkness, the dog yelped.
“My husband knew right away something was wrong,” said Cindy Shannon.
“He hollered at the dog and went right over,”she said.
“He was all full of saliva, like he was all wet,” said Duane.
“We brought him in the house, and he was walking really bad,” Duane explained
“I seen a drop a blood and then another drop of blood,” he said, adding that it was difficult to find out exactly where the blood was coming from.
“We couldn’t see anything because the hair is so thick eh.” Duane said the bleeding just wouldn’t stop
“So we brought him out to the vet and she shaved him real good and that’s when we saw all the punctures,” he said.
The dog had been grabbed by the throat.
Russell says it’s a classic attack method by a coyote. He says the coyotes live and die by their ability to hunt and kill. Russell says domestic dogs are easy prey for wild coyotes.
“Don’t think that because you have a big dog, it can stand up to coyote,” said Russell “They hunt and kill to live.”
The Shannons admitted they were not surprised since they had seen coyotes lurking in the fields near their home, which sits on a large tract on flat land.
After returning home from the veterinarian clinic, the Shannons called the Ministry of Natural Resources and were told the MNR is not responsible for animal control. The ministry referred them to Russell who is licensed to live-trap nuisance animals.
Russell’s advice for residents living near the bush is “not to let your animals wander alone.”
He says many residents have complained of dogs and cats being lost, or even “kidnapped” in recent months. Russell says he believes animals are more likely the victims of the coyotes who are preying on an easy source of food.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Baby Amber case to be re-opened

Of the ten new cases uncovered at the Inquiry into Pediatic Forensic Pathology involving discredited Dr. Charles Smith, one case involves the death of a Timmins child and wrongful manslaughter charges against a 12-year-old Timmins girl.
The inquiry is looking into the faulty findings and questionable testimony of Dr. Smith who was previously head of the Ontario Pediatric Forensics Unit at the Hospital for Sick Children.
In several cases, Smith wrongly concluded that young children had died of injuries or negligent behavior by others. In some cases criminal charges followed.
In the case of Baby Amber-Lynn S------, of Timmins, she was 16 months-old when her parents left her in the care of a 12-year-old babysitter one day in July of 1988.
The toddler suffered a fall that day, down five stairs. Paramedics were called. They found the baby breathing irregularly, but with no visible injuries.
Two days later, on July 30, 1988, Baby Amber was pronounced brain dead at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
The cause of death was listed as “cerebral edema, due to head injury after an accidental fall.” An autopsy was requested due to a suspicion of the possibility of foul play.
As the result of the autopsy, Dr. Smith told police it was highly unlikely a fall killed Baby Amber. Smith said he believed the death was caused by severely shaking the baby.
The 12-year old babysitter, known as SM, was charged in December of 1988 with manslaughter. She maintained her innocence.
By the time the charge when to trial in 1991, the judge ruled he was not convinced the death of the baby was due to shaking.
The babysitter was acquitted.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Cash & Dash

Timmins Police Service says it has a suspect in custody following a break-in and attempted robbery at the Xtra Cash business at Algonquin Boulevard and Highway 655 Sunday.
Police say the alarm was activated around 8:30 Sunday morning, but when police arrived no one was inside the building.
According to policed, entry was gained through the roof of the building and its believed that when the alarm sounded, the suspect dashed out the back door.
As the result of an investigating the Ontario Provincial Police, police say 35 year old Robert Weaver was taken into custody charged with breaking and entering. Officer at left photographs evidence on the roof of the building.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Santa Parade

Thousands of Timmins children, and their friends and parents, lined the downtown streets Saturday night for the annual Timmins Santa Claus Parade. The event lasted more than an hour and the weather was perfect. Cold enough for a hot chocolate but warm enough to stand outside for 90 minutes. Sixteen year old Pascal Allarie, the new Miss Teen Ontario North, was among the participants.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Black Box being investigated

Timmins Police Service is working to get court authorization to examine the “black box” device located on the late model Chevrolet pick up involved in a fatal crash on Power Avenue Monday.
The truck somehow drove off the roadway, onto the sidewalk, and into two schoolgirls who were walking home after school, and then into the schoolyard fence (see photo).
One child, 10-year-old Amelie Guertin, was killed.
The black box device, or Event Data Recorder (EDR) is located on many late model vehicles. It provides information on vehicle speed, engine speed, braking status, driver’s seat belt status and the times on airbag deployment.
Timmins traffic sergeant Randall Trebilcock says a court order is required to access the EDR and download the information.
Police are not releasing the name of the driver of the vehicle at this time. Trebilcock says the investigation continues.