Morning rush hour crash in south London, Ont. claims life

It was a devastating scene at the intersection of Highbury Avenue South and Dingman Drive in London Monday morning.

Pictures taken by a CTV News London viewer depicts a commercial truck wedged into the driver’s side of a pickup truck, with police, fire, and an ambulance on scene.

Dingman Drive resident Allan Tipping is part of the neighbourhood group Shaver Brockley Coalition. He said such scenes have become all too common at this corner as traffic increases.

“This street is just, it’s gone crazy now, and Highbury Avenue is just so fast,” he said. “We’ve asked the city for street lights, we’ve asked them to reduce the speed.”

London police said emergency crews responded to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection around 8 a.m. Monday morning.

A two-vehicle crash on Dingman Drive and Highbury Avenue South in London, Ont. has left one person deceased and sent a second person to hospital on Aug. 14, 2023. (Source: Submitted)

According to police, the driver of one vehicles was pronounced deceased at the scene, while the driver of a commercial vehicle was transported to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The busy Highbury Avenue commuter route was closed for several hours in both directions as police investigated, while Dingman Drive was also closed to traffic. Late Monday afternoon, London police announced all roads had been reopened. 

London Police Services Const. Matt Dawson said investigators from the Traffic Management Unit are looking into a number of factors to determine the cause.

“A number of factors will be at play, generally including what the traffic conditions were like, the weather conditions, road conditions, those types of things,” he said.

A two-vehicle crash on Dingman Drive and Highbury Avenue South in London, Ont. has left one person deceased and sent a second person to hospital on Aug. 14, 2023. (Source: Submitted)According to Tipping, traffic in the area has become busier since a big box store opened on Dingman Drive near Wellington Road earlier this year.

“With the city opening Costco and putting all the truck facilities out here you have 10 times, at least, the amount of traffic on Dingman Drive. So you’ve got too many vehicles turning left at that intersection. It’s just terrible. You can’t see to the right, because of the corners, and to the left they’re just too fast,” he said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to contact them.