Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1974, November 5 Crossing Accident at Moodie Drive, Canadian National Smiths Falls subdivision, one fatality

Ottawa Citizen 7 November 1974 Funeral Friday crash victim Funeral services will be held Friday for an Ottawa man killed Tuesday morning when the truck he was driving collided with a train at a level crossing on Moodie Drive. Jack Hunniford, 41. of 146 Elm St. was driving a truck owned by Burnside Sand and Gravel Ltd, when it was in collision with a Canadian National passenger train at 9:30 a.m. Ottawa Citizen 16 April 1975 Jury finds fault with rail signals A coroner's jury found Tuesday that railway crossing signals appeared to be inadequately maintained at the scene of a train-truck collision last fall in which an Ottawa man was killed. Jack Hunniford. 42, of 146 Elm St. died instantly when the tandem truck he was driving collided with a Canadian National Railways passenger train at a level crossing on Moodie Drive in Nepean Township. The coroner's jury also found that the speed of both vehicles was a contributing factor. It recommended that more frequent checks be made of railway crossing warning devices and that reduced-speed-limit signs be posted well in advance of the crossings. Conflicting evidence indicated that the "wig-wag" warning signals at the Moodie Drive crossing may not have been working at the time of the accident. Brian Walters and Randy McGooeye, truck drivers for a lumber company near the scene, both testified that they had noticed the signals were not functioning while a train was passing on different occasions prior to the accident. Mr. Watters said he narrowly missed being struck by a train at the same crossing only 10 days before Mr. Hunniford's death. He said the signals suddenly came on when he was driving his truck across the tracks.

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Updated 18 February 2019