Alleged race between two vehicles results in major property damage

The intersection of Cree and Springbank has been the scene of several dangerous collisions in recent years, the latest of which saw two cars wind up on Terry Wall’s front lawn causing severe property damage (Woodstock Police photo).

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A city man is looking to see traffic safety measures at the intersection where he lives in light of a scary incident involving two cars that police allege were racing.

On March 16 Woodstock Police responded to a collision just after 2:30 a.m. at the intersection of Springbank Avenue and Cree Avenue.

The initial investigation reveals that two vehicles were traveling northbound on Springbank and appeared to be racing as they crossed the intersection of Devonshire Avenue and Springbank. As the vehicles approached the bend between Conestoga Road and Cree Avenue, they collided with a parked truck and boat on a trailer.

A 27-year-old male from Woodstock has been charged with failing to remain at the scene and dangerous driving causing bodily harm, while another 27-year-old male from Kitchener has been charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The roadway was shut down for several hours while accident reconstruction specialists conducted their investigation. One of the passengers involved in the collision was transferred to a London Hospital where he remains with serious injuries.

Terry Wall lives at the home where the two cars ended up. He admitted it was difficult to talk about the incident and said at first, he thought his daughter broke something.

“I thought she was in the kitchen getting plates out of the cupboard and dropped one. Then I thought the cupboards were falling because it didn’t end. We went downstairs to see what was going on and saw red lights in my window and there were cars where my truck used to be.”

Both cars wound up in Wall’s driveway, badly damaging his pickup truck and boat.

“It’s hard to talk about because I am still having nightmares. We saw people getting out of the cars dragging another person around which my daughter and I thought was a dead body. That’s what I said when I was on the phone with 911. That image is engrained in my head.”

Wall said two people were telling the injured person to wake up but then tried to back the cars up to leave the scene. He decided to stay in his home to make sure he and his family were safe.

“I can’t even explain what I was feeling. I was horrified, I couldn’t believe it was real and I couldn’t go out there. It’s not the first time someone has ended up on my front yard but it’s the first time I have seen something like that.”

Wall said on three occasions this year vehicles have wound up in his front yard.

“There was a pedestrian walk sign. He plowed over that and ended up at my front door, tried backing up but impaled his car on the sign and couldn’t get away. The police got him and he was impaired.”

 Wall explained the intersection is a dangerous one, at least in part because of dangerous driving.

“I put my chair by the front door and watch how stupid people are. They accelerate around the corner so they can go sideways. It’s mind-boggling.”  

An all-way stop warrant analysis was conducted by the City of Woodstock in June 2022.  When the data collected was compared to the thresholds outlined in the Ontario Traffic Manual, the warrant for an all-way stop was not met. A statement from the city said another analysis may be completed.

“Additionally, the city is in the process of finalizing a Transportation Master Plan (TMP) which includes the development of a Traffic Calming Policy. Once the TMP is finalized and adopted by council (May 2025 target), engineering staff will review the subject location to determine if there are any applicable measures in the Traffic Calming Policy that may be suitable for implementation at this location.”

Wall said he wants to see something down as soon as possible to help keep the neighbourhood, and his family, safe.

“The one thing that keeps me up at night, what if those cars went 20 degrees one way? It would have hit my house and I could have been making funeral arrangements and that scares the crap out of me. I can’t live like that. They have to do something. I shouldn’t have to move out of the place because of this.”

He added every factor that could cause an accident at the intersection, including road conditions, racing, drunk driving and stupidity, comes down to people driving too fast.

“We all know speed signs don’t work. People in a 40 will do 60. They will do 50 in a 70. The only way to control speed is a stop sign. I can’t think of any other logical solution other than speed bumps.”

Walls explained all he really wants is some peace of mind. The material items will be replaced by insurance.

“Not just for my family. For everyone living around here.”  

Wall isn’t the only person looking for change. His landlord, Christine Cooper, has seen it for herself.

“There have been several incidents before, ranging from small to large accidents. It is not uncommon for a car to lose control during the winter months and slide onto the boulevard and take out the cable box or hydro pole. That has happened numerous times without any reports.” 

Cooper described some of the events she has seen at the intersection.

“A drunk or high driver drove through the fence and fled the scene. He was found at his house a couple streets over and charged. The fence was replaced. A motorcyclist lost control of his bike and dumped it taking the corner. This was as my sister-in-law was just putting her kids in the car and had her husband's car not been in front she would have been killed. This was reported and we put rocks in the front yard.”

Cooper said she contacted the city following an incident in January of 2022 because she was worried for the safety of Wall and his children.

“The intersection is very busy, especially during school time. The crossing guard has to be extremely diligent when crossing the kids. A three-way stop would benefit everyone in the neighborhood. Since this last incident, I got a little mad and posted on Facebook with the city planner's email encouraging people to help me. So many neighbours voiced their concerns including not being able to turn out of the neighbouring streets safely because of how fast people are driving.”

Police say the investigation into the latest incident is ongoing.