Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

 1952, March 14 - Crossing Accident near Prescott, local hits a truck, one injury

Ottawa Citizen, 15 March 1952 Transport Collides With Train Special To The Citizen PRESCOTT An Ottawa transport driver, Thomas W. Biondin, of 414 1/2 Arlington Avenue, was taken to St. Vincent de Paull Hospital, Brockville last night when his tractor-trailer transport was struck by a CPR local train at a level crossing, two miles north of Prescott. Ontario Provincial Police reported that the accident occurred at about 8 45 p.m., when the heavy transport, loaded with insulation board, could not stop in time at the crossing. The train, an Ottawa-Prescott local, struck the truck just behind the cab, rolling the trailer down an embankment and throwing the cab some 75 yards along the track. The driver was thrown from the cab. but was found partially buried beneath huge heavy packages of the board. He was taken to hospital by Appleton Ambulance of Prescott. Another man, believed to have been a rider in the transport, left the scene before police arrived and his name could not be ascertained.  "Very Serious" Brockville Hospital authorities said today that Blondin's condition was "very serious," although exact nature of his injuries was not revealed. The transport, owned by Motorways, Limited, of Ottawa, was reported to have been westbound along the Highway 16 "cut off" leading into Prescott. The road there was in good condition and provides a direct approach to the crossing, although vision was somewhat obscured by light undergrowth. Police reported that Blondin apparently applied his brakes some 175 feet away from crossing, but cruld not stop in time and the transport "jack-knifed" on the crossing, with the cab headed almost due south. The train, moving slowly as it approached Prescott, was a small one, containing only one baggage car and a passenger car. The engineer was Thomas Curley, 25 Westmount Street, Ottawa, the fireman, Andrew Labrie and the conductor E. L. McMullln, 202 Booth Street, Ottawa. Labrie said tnat he had seen the truck approaching, but thought that it had time to make the crossing. Apart from having cargo scattered over the surrounding area, the transport did not appear to have been heavily damaged. The trailer was battered, but the cab, struck from behind, escaped comparatively lightly.

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Updated 3 October 2019