EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated around 4 p.m. Tuesday following confirmation from OPP that the accused driver had been found and charged.
UPDATE: Northumberland OPP says a 47-year-old Scarborough resident is facing charges after a tractor trailer allegedly hit a parked Cobourg fire truck on Hwy. 401 and failed to remain at the scene during last night’s winter storm.
In the latest from OPP, police said on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at about 10:10 a.m., the driver sought in connection with their fail-to-remain investigation contacted police to report the incident.
The tractor trailer had proceeded to a commercial premises in the Township of Cramahe, according to OPP. Police said they spoke with the individual and observed the vehicle, which had sustained damages.
As a result of the investigation, police said a 47-year-old Scarborough man was charged with fail to slow down and proceed with caution for emergency vehicle or tow truck, careless driving, fail to remain, fail to report, operate unsafe commercial motor vehicle, and fail to have insurance card.
None of these charges have been proven in court. The accused will appear in Cobourg court at a future date, said police.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW:
A Cobourg firefighter sent to hospital in the middle of last night’s storm after a transport truck hit a fire truck on Hwy. 401 is recovering, says Cobourg Fire Department Chief Ellard Beaven.
“I was with him at the hospital, and fortunately, he suffered minor injuries and he’ll be returning to work,” Beaven told MBC, in an update the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. “We’re very thankful that it wasn’t more serious.”
As another winter storm blew into the region last night (Monday, Feb. 3), emergency crews were once again out in force fielding multiple calls. Last night’s incident has officials once again urging motorists to slow down when behind the wheel and to adjust driving to weather conditions – and to move over, as is the law now, when they see emergency vehicles with lights activated and workers and tow truck operators on the sides of roads.
Northumberland OPP confirmed a fail-to-remain investigation into this incident earlier Tuesday. In a brief update just before 4 p.m., an OPP spokesperson confirmed police caught up with the accused driver earlier in the day and the individual had been charged.
Police and EMS responded shortly after 8 p.m. Monday to a call about a collision involving a fire truck and tractor trailer in the eastbound lanes in the Township of Hamilton. In an update Tuesday afternoon, the OPP police report detailed the tractor trailer collided with a stationary fire truck dealing with a separate and unconnected incident involving a vehicle in a ditch and the transport allegedly failed to remain at the scene.
Beaven said firefighters were initially called to a collision in the eastbound lanes between Port Hope and Cobourg on Hwy. 401.
“As soon as they got onto the 401 westbound, they were told by dispatch they could stand down, it was a minor accident. But they still have to come back on the 401 – so (there was a) vehicle in the ditch backwards, it slid in, and they just went to make sure that the occupants were safe, and the truck was parked on the shoulder.
“And we park them on an angle, specifically, for what happened yesterday, so that if a vehicle hits us it’s a glancing blow, so that the vehicle bounces off our truck and doesn’t hit us square on and it pushes the vehicle away from our firefighters, which is exactly what happened last night,” explained Beaven.
“The one firefighter was getting in the truck when it was struck and that’s what threw him from the truck – the impact of the vehicle hitting us.”
The incident had the crew pretty shaken up.
“We had two other firefighters on the truck, and they were looking in their mirrors and saw the truck coming and I mean that was very difficult for them after because they saw it coming and couldn’t doing anything about it, right … so it’s difficult to see it and (they) couldn’t change the outcome.”
But the worst part, said Beaven, was that the driver didn’t stop – the transport driver just continued on.
“One of his tires off his trailer was right at the truck – it blew the tire right off his transport trailer, so I mean there’s definitely damage to his vehicle, so hopefully, somebody reports it,” said Beaven earlier in the day, who had also been in contact with OPP again Tuesday offering to help in any way he can with the investigation.
In this terrible type of weather, people need to slow down – and the law has changed, motorists are supposed to move over and give emergency crews that lane, Beaven is reminding the public.
On the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 4, Northumberland OPP earlier put out a call for help with their investigation, asking anyone with information or video or dash-cam footage that could assist police in identifying the vehicle to call OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
OPP is also echoing how this incident highlights the critical need for drivers to remain alert and give emergency vehicles the space they need to operate safely at collision scenes.
“Failing to do so not only endangers first responders but also compromises their ability to assist those in need. Police urge all motorists to slow down, move over, and exercise caution when approaching emergency scenes to prevent incidents like this from happening.”
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)