Staff
The driver of a tractor-trailer faces two charges stemming from a single-vehicle accident yesterday morning at the junction of Highway 11 and Highway 502.
A police investigation revealed the 53-year-old male driver from Burlington, Ont. was southbound and not familiar with the highway he was travelling.
As he approached the junction, he failed to stop for a stop sign, drove through the intersection, and crashed into the ditch south of Highway 11 just west of Nickel Lake Siding Road.
Police said the driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and was taken by ambulance to La Verendrye Hospital in Fort Frances.
The tractor-trailer unit sustained extensive frontal and undercarriage damage, police noted, adding the sidewall of the trailer also was damaged as the load consisting of wood chips shifted during the accident.
The Watten Fire Department was on scene and helped to contain spilled diesel fuel from ruptured fuel tanks, police said.
The Ministry of the Environment also was contacted.
A local company was contracted to remove the tractor-trailer unit, police noted.
The driver was charged with failing to stop for a sop sign and failing to maintain his daily log.
