The Democratic Reporter account & news release - Apr. 30/06.
Follow-up account and pictures of the details regarding first hand visits to Hazel McCallion's Car Crash site.
This web-page and all my reports about this event are the writers opinions based on what he sees and
what information he has to form his opinions with.
The effort is to be as factual as possible, while trying to understand events
with limited access to records being kept from the public or media.
The Mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion in front of her famous Buick (The EGO Tripper), & its MAYOR 1, license plate.
Picture from the 30 year birthday special supplement in the Mississauga News, Dec. 11, 2004.
These pictures were taken Friday and Saturday with a better camera. On these days the site Hazel McCallion's Car Crash was carefully measured out and chalk marks used to highlight faint tire marks.
First off, lets look at the distance between the warning sign and the stoplight pole using a passing car. Less than two car lengths approximately, so it is not hard to see the Mayor's car, after it jumped the traffic island curb, could easily hit the pole with a good deal of force. Also note that the surface is not flat, after bouncing over the curb and then hitting the low spot that is a part of the cross-walk, a car's tires would have a very hard time, in such a short distance of getting a grip to break with, before the pole did the stopping.
This picture has the sun lining the shadow of the stoplight pole to the warning sign. You can see from the approaching car that the Mayor's car would be about a full car width or traveling right down the centre line in order to hit the traffic island point on, as the tire marks show.
Another picture to show the same alignment and the chalk marks around the faint tire marks. Not saying Hazel McCallion was the only person to ever hit that traffic island but the marks I am noting are very fresh from what I can see. The two squares at the point about 60" centre to centre apart, a mark where a tire hit the curb is there but hard to see, better in other pictures (below), and another mark was added later. Oddly, the two tire marks at the pole were only 22" centre to centre apart. As there is no picture of the actual Car Crash - yet - can't say how they were made. With all those people showing up that night there is no cell phone pictures? Maybe they will turn up or police will issues them as a part of their report. For that matter why am I the only one showing pictures of the Mayor and her car?
They say a "A horde of police, firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene", it is understandable that the Mayor got extra special treatment but would not all those trucks that came be handy to circle around the crash site so passers-by would not be able to see the smashed MAYOR 1?
This picture was darken-up to show the chalk marks clearer and the path they show.
Another clearer picture showing the marks made to pole, looking west.
Another picture looking south as person would see the traffic island when trying to make a turn.
PLEASE NOTE - that the traffic island is the intersection for three crosswalks and the area that MAYOR 1 plowed into would be the same area that people would likely be standing to cross the road. The Mayor was very luckily no one was killed!
Note, where the pedestrian cross walk button is - how would you like to be standing there when the Mayor in her car pays the pole a up-close and personal visit? Could easily have kill some one or been involved with another car for life threatening accident.
Although the street lights are mostly on the other side of the street, east side, there is one at the top of the stoplight, on the curb and few hundred feet further up the road at a bus shelter, another place we can all be happy that Hazel McCallion MISSED! This is another example of how I say the seriousness of this accident is being understated. Further more, if we could see the damage done to her car, we could get a clearer idea of how fast she was going. Why? Because Hazel McCallion lost control of her car as it was plowing into an intersection and if she missed the pole, then what would have stopped her? A car crossing her path? A gas tanker? Think about it, how bad could have it been.
Hazel McCallion as a liability to the City of Mississauga. If she kept driving to City functions etc., and had another accident that resulted in the City being sued, the City would lose as the lawyers would point to this accident as proof the City knew she should not have been allowed to keep on doing so, in the name of public safety. That and how will Mississaugans live down the shame of another accident?
I don't know about you but as a driver with many years of experience, when making a 90o turn, that is when I paid the most attention and yet this was when Hazel, by her own admission, was not. Having traveled in cars driven by older folks, it has been noticed that when they get lost in their own thoughts or too involved in a conversation they tend to ride the white line between the lanes.
Still I can't help but think that if the same accident had happen to any one else's 85 year old family member and given the fact the driver admits to not paying attention, they would have been charged right away and their license removal fast-tracked.
A better picture of the broken car parts or RELICS of the great & mighty Hazel McCallion's fall from grace.
The area was cleaned up pretty good but not perfectly. For sale pieces of the true MAYOR 1.
Remember how said that I gave the Mayor a gift of a bottle of her favourite alcoholic beverage Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry, earlier in the day and I did not want to be blamed for what happened? Well the gift was returned (the card was not even opened), with a letter from the City's Director of Legislative Services and City Clerk - Crystal Greer, saying "We are returning the enclosed gift to which you presented at the Council meeting of April 26th, 2006, as Mayor McCallion declines to accept your gift." The letter was dated Apr. 26/06, but it did not show up at my home till Apr. 28, the same day that I had earlier posted pictures of the gift, as Hazel would say "interesting". More interesting is the fact that I have stood in Council reception and witnessed gifts from developers pile up at Christmas for the Mayor!! That an FOI request for any records the Mayor may have about these gifts was answered with this "no records are kept of gifts delivered to the Mayor."
A far as I have heard, the Mayor has never refused a gift from a developer.
So Hazel McCallion, correct me if that is wrong and provide an example.
