Tragic crash launches vehicle into the roofline of a two-storey home
It was a tragic crash, which could have been much worse after a vehicle launched into the roofline of a two-storey home before slamming to the ground.
The collision happened on Elginfield Road, west of Richmond Street and just south of Lucan, Ont. Sunday evening.
Paul and Eadiea Fleming were just heading inside around 8 p.m. Sunday after spending an evening on the back deck. That’s when they heard the crash.
“It was deafening,” said Paul Fleming, “It was something that would have happened in a tornado."
When they came around the corner they found a mangled vehicle in the front of the old farm house where they've been tenants since September.
Debris was scattered everywhere. Others arriving to the scene pointed out the damage to the home —which the Flemings hadn't noticed.
Paul and Eadiea Fleming speak with neighbours in front of their home that was hit by an airborne vehicle Sunday evening. July 25, 2022. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)"I'd never heard of that kind of accident,” Eadiea exclaimed in disbelief, “Where a vehicle can become airborne."
A driver who arrived shortly after the crash told the Flemings he had called police to report the BMW driving erratically, at very high rates of speed, shortly before the crash.
The vehicle was heading westbound, entered the south ditch, ploughed through the reeds and hit an embankment that launched it into the air. The vehicle flipped, ending up on its wheels and facing the direction from which it came.
“We were outside in our garden,” said neighbour Colleen Dobinson. “I could hear loud squealing tires which, on busy roads, you're used to hearing, but this was definitely somebody going at a high pace. You could hear the tire squealing and there was a loud crash."
Dobinson lives almost two kilometres away and ran the entire distance, concerned for her neighbours and for the driver of the vehicle.
"Trying to also make sure we were safe as we could be responding to whoever was in the vehicle, knowing that they were in some serious trouble," said Dobinson.
An embankment that launched vehicle into a home on Elginfield Rd., near Lucan., July 25, 2022. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)At one point, flames started to emerge from the wreckage and Eadiea heard the calls go out, “Does anybody have a fire extinguisher. Well, luckily, we did and I got that, and they were able to put the fire out."
Still, despite the best efforts of first responders, the female driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a press release issued by Middlesex County OPP on Monday, the victim has been identified as 69-year-old Jadwiga Piasecki of Bayfield, Ont.
A post-mortem exam is scheduled for a later date.
The Flemings are grateful they weren’t at the front of house or in the upstairs bedroom where the car hit. They are also grateful to all the concerned citizens, police officers, ambulance crew members and fire fighters who came to offer assistance and comfort.
According to the OPP, the investigation is ongoing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.