Sheet of ice flies off vehicle on QEW in Grimsby, injuring person

Lincoln | Hamilton | Niagara | Traffic | Weather |

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Published February 23, 2023 at 8:23 pm

A flying sheet of ice apparently caused an injury to a passenger in a vehicle on Queen Elizabeth Way highway on Thursday night, illustrating the risk that failing to clear off one’s car after a big storm poses to other road users.

A report stated emergency crews were treating a patient on the Fort Erie-bound QEW near Casablanca Blvd., after the ice came off of another vehicle and stuck the unfortunate person in the chest. Video showed two fire trucks were parked at the scene. Ontario law requires that windshields, roofs and hoods of vehicles be completely cleared of ice and snow before going out on the roads. Failing to do so can result in a significant fine — $50 to $500 for drivers of a personal vehicle, and $100 to $1,000 for drivers of a commercial vehicle.

Real-time highway traffic data did not list any closures on the QEW. However, one of the firetrucks driven by the emergency crews was parked in the left-hand lane, creating a lane restriction and shielding the workers and injured person.

The Hamilton and Niagara regions had a major ice storm on Wednesday night that carried into Thursday. Weather historian Rolf Campbell said that Hamilton received 14.6 mm of snow, which was the most it was received on Feb. 22 in 123 years. With freezing rain mixed in — and contributing to ice build-up — the total precipitation reached 30.2 mm, making for Hamilton’s wettest day of the winter. (Grimsby is just south and east of Hamilton’s boundary.)

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