Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1990 June 10 - Crossing collision, Alexandria, CNR., Alexandria sub., two fatalities.

Ottawa Citizen 11 June 1990 Two die as train hits car Railway warning sign torn off by vandals hours before accident The railway warning sign at a level crossing near Alexandria where two people were killed Sunday had been broken off by vandals just hours before the accident. The broken sign, which had been thrown in the ditch, was another example of a wave of weekend sign and mailbox smashing that has plagued the area for the past two years, said Lochiel Township roads superintendent Gilles Chenier. Two Lancaster-area residents died at about 10:30 a.m. when their car was hit by a passenger train, about 90 kilometres east of Ottawa. Driver Lori MacDonell, 20, and Keith McDonell, 23, who were not related, were killed as they attempted to cross the CN Rail tracks on Massie Road about tour km east of Alexandria, said Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Don Eas- top of the Long Sault detachment. Eastop said the Ottawa-bound VIA Rail train was coming from Montreal. Sgt. Gerry Brunet of the OPP In Maxville said he was unable to say whether the broken sign contributed to the accident. "At this point, we have no idea as to what happened," Brunet said. "It's a fairly open crossing with a good view of the track." But he described the sign vandalism as dangerous. "They just seem to take them down and throw them in the ditch. It's beyond me why they do it." Chenier said he knows the sign warning motorists travelling in the direction of the couple's car of the train crossing had been intact Friday morning. "We get broken signs every weekend," said Chenier. "It's Halloween year round for those guys." "Two weeks ago there were about 20 pulled up or broken off and thrown into a ditch or field." Chenier said replacing the signs cost the township $5,000 last year and the same amount in 1988. "We've got about 20 crossings, six without flashing lights, in the township and the view of that one is A-one," said Chenier. McDonell's sister Kyle said Keith was the youngest of eight children and lived on the family dairy farm in North Lancaster. She said this morning her brother had played a soccer game at 9 a.m. Sunday in the village of Lochiel. At the time of the accident, he was going to a confirmation party for his niece, Kyle added. She said her brother and Lori had been going out "for a month or two." Ernie MacMillan, past president of the Glengarry Soccer League in which McDonell played, said breaking the sign at the level crossing "was a terrible, despicable act." He said McDonell, who had played in the Gerald McDonald Memorial Tournament, knew the road but that his girlfriend, who was driving, did not. MacMillan said he has had his mailbox smashed by the vandals. "I think it's all being done by the same group," he said. "No one has been able to catch them in the act." Kyle said her brother graduated last year from MacDonald College in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que. A double funeral is to be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at St. Finnan's Cathedral in Alexandria. Ottawa Citizen 12 June 1990 YOUNG COUPLE KILLED Cause of train crash unknown ALEXANDRIA - Provincial police say they may never know what caused a car-train collision Sunday morning that killed two Lancaster-area residents. Keith McDonell, 23, and Lori MacDonell, 20, were killed when their car was struck by a VIA Rail passenger train at a gravel road level crossing four kilometres east of Alexandria. The couple were returning from a morning soccer tournament in nearby Lochiel. OPP Const. Peter Fishwick said Monday the mishap was still under investigation but as both occupants of the car were killed, it may never be determined how it happened. The level crossing was described as well-marked and open with good visibility of the track. Despite its open approaches, the crossing has been the scene of two previous collisions in recent years. In 1987 and again in 1989, vehicles were driven into moving trains. Onlv one driver suffered minor injuries. McDonell's sister, Kyle, said Keith was the youngest of eight children and had worked on the family dairy farm in North Lancaster after graduating from MacDonald College last year. She said her brother had played a soccer game at 9 a.m. in the village of Lochiel. At the time of the accident, he was en route to a confirmation party for his niece, Kyle said. Keith and Lori had been going out "for a month or two," she said. A double funeral is to be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at St. Finnan's Cathedral in Alexandria.

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Updated 3 August 2010