John Slykhuis
A Georgina man faces impaired driving charges after a car crossed a median and hit a tractor trailer head-on on High Street in Sutton last week. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate the driver of the car.
Georgina
December 05, 2007 04:32 PM
By: John Slykhuis
A Georgina man, charged with impaired driving after a deadly crash last week on High Street in Sutton, will appear in Newmarket court Dec. 17.
The charges came soon after York Regional Police launched their annal RIDE program.
The collision occurred at about 3:45 p.m. when an eastbound Pontiac swerved across the centre line and was hit head-on by a westbound dump truck towing a trailer with an excavator.
The rig, owned by Ted Dol Excavating of Sutton and driven by Georgina resident Bob Clapham, tore across the sidewalk and front lawns of two homes, clipping a utility pole before coming to a stop.
The sidewalk is used by children coming home from school, but none were there when the crash occurred.
The trucker did an excellent job of controlling the rig and preventing it from jack-knifing and crashing into the first house, a witness said.
The trucker was not injured, but the truck snapped its front axle and had to be towed.
The 31-year-old driver of the car was trapped in the wreck and was extricated by Georgina firefighters using the Jaws of Life.
He escaped serious injury and was treated and released from Southlake Regional Health Centre.
His 33-year-old passenger, who acted hostile toward police and firefighters, suffered a minor scalp wound.
High Street was closed for several hours as police investigated.
Anyone witnessing the crash is asked to call police.