OPP lay more than 1,000 traffic charges over busy long weekend

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were typing up plenty of tickets over the long weekend, conducting multiple traffic stops, charging over a thousand people and responding to many collisions.

According to statistics from the force, across the east region officers laid 1,653 charges from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.

Just over 1,000 were for speeding, 36 for stunt driving, 48 for impaired driving, 34 for distracted driving and 72 charges laid for seatbelt infractions.

Police also issued 500 warnings.

In one of those tales from the long weekend, police said they caught a driver watching TikTok.

Ottawa OPP conducted a traffic stop on Aug. 30 and witnessed a person driving and watching TikToks, which carried a $615 fine and three demerit points with a three day driving suspension if convicted.

Officials were urging people to slow down and drive carefully prior to the long weekend, noting they hoped there would be no more fatalities. This year 227 lives have already been lost on OPP-patrolled roads. Police add that 21 pedestrians and cyclists were among those statistics.

Despite efforts to prepare motorists, on Aug. 30 a 14-year-old girl died after a collision between her bicycle and a car in South Stormont Township.

Officials responded at 3:30 p.m. on County Road 2, west of Long Sault. Some off-duty firefighters and others were attempting to save her life, but the teen was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The initial investigation has found that the young woman, a resident of South Stormont, had been riding her bicycle eastbound on the westbound shoulder when she was struck by a westbound car,” police said.

That same day, a 67-year-old man was charged with careless driving after a head-on collision on Highway 7 near McGowan Lake just outside of Perth, Ont.

Officers from the Lanark detachment responded at 3:45 p.m. along with paramedics where they said an off-duty firefighter was already on scene providing aid to the victims. Three vehicles were involved in the collision with two drivers being transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

On Aug. 31, police from the Lennox and Addington detachment were occupied with a transport truck and tanker rollover that closed a portion of Highway 401 east of Belleville.

Aside from dealing with the crash, officers were also kept busy handing out tickets to motorists who they say used their cellphones to take video as they passed through the scene.

Police say 18 drivers were ticketed for using their phones to video the serious crash.

That same day, Ottawa OPP caught a person from the nation’s capital using their phone to take a video of a collision on Highway 417.

“Actions like this are dangerous not only for the driver filming but all the other motorists as well,” police noted.

Another teen was found dead in the east region over the weekend by Leeds officers.

A single-vehicle collision left a 19-year-old driver dead and a 17-year-old passenger with non-life-threatening injuries just after 3:00 a.m. on Country Road 8, a few kilometres east of Highway 15.

Police are investigating what led to the collision.

In Tweed, just north of Belleville, police said a child died after being struck by a vehicle.

At about 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, an off-duty nurse and other attempted to save the life of a six-year-old. Police said she was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital.

The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene.

In North Grenville, parents notified police of a stunt driver in Riverside Park.

Around 2 p.m., a vehicle was intentionally drifting around the gravel parking circle. Parents told police they attempted to get the driver to stop citing safety concerns. The person fled the area and was quickly located by officers.

As a result, a 16-year-old with a G2 licence was charged with stunt driving, with the vehicle towed and impounded.

“Dangerous driving behaviour like this puts everyone’s life at risk,” officials said.