27-year-old identified as Hensall crash victim

A 27-year-old man has died after a single-vehicle crash near Hensall on Tuesday evening, according to police.

OPP, fire and EMS were called to the scene on Rodgerville Road near Ausable Line just after 7 p.m. where they found a heavily-damaged pickup truck that had collided with a concrete bridge abutment.

Evan Dickins of Hensall, the lone occupant of the vehicle, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Marnie Hill has known Evan since he was two years old.

“There’s nobody here that doesn’t know him and I think it’s quite devastating to an entire community,” said Hill. “He always smiled. You always saw a smile on his face.”

She described Evan as a smart young man who was close with his family.

“He loved it here and he loved his friends and he loved his family,” she said. “No, he will never be forgotten.” 

“We just saw them playing ball at the baseball diamond last night,” said Ashley Chillingworth, a friend of Evan and his family

“Everybody in town is going to miss him dearly. My condolences to out to the Dickins family.”    

OPP couldn’t confirm if speed played a factor but told CTV News the investigation is still ongoing.

“It might be a little early to say for sure speed was a factor, but there is some indication based on the damage to the pickup truck and the damage to the bridge. There was a significant amount of force involved in this collision,” said Const. Jamie Stanley.

Stanley said a post-mortem exam is scheduled for Wednesday to determine if drugs or alcohol played a factor.

Condolences on social media read, "My heart goes to the Dickins family right now. They lost one heck of a brother, son, uncle and friend way to soon.... You always had the biggest smile and even a bigger heart to match it." 

Because of damages to the bridge, police say Rodgerville Road has been temporarily closed.  

- With files from CTV London's Jennifer Basa.