Scanned, recopied or Internet copy, if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections:
Opening comments: More at the end.
Finally a picture of the right location for Hazel McCallion's traffic accident. Odd it does not mention the MAYOR 1 written on the sign post that Hazel killed.
NOTE the young lady in this picture. This young lady is crossing the path that Hazel McCallion's car took when it smashed into the stoplight pole, note the spilled oil in the ground. The Mayor's car went right to the pole, so image what would have happened if you or one of your family were stand between the warning sign in the foreground and the stoplight pole or even close by. Image if the the Mayor missed the stoplight pole and carried on into the intersection. This accident is no joke, it is a wake up call.
The Mississauga News - Apr 28-06 - By Louie Rosella.
Police probe mayor's crash
*********************
Under picture showing the traffic island, warning sign first.
Staff photo by Fred Loek
Mayor's Corner -- Mayor Hazel McCallion severly damaged her car on Wednesday night after
she failed to negotiate a right-hand turn turn at this intersection island at the corner of Britannia and McLaughlin Rds.
********************
Peel Regional Police are investigating a Wednesday night accident in which Mayor Hazel McCallion crashed her car while driving home.
McCallion, 85, was visibly shaken, but able to walk away from the crash after driving her Buick into a signpost on McLaughlin and Britannia Rds., at around 9:15 p.m. The mayor was attempting to make a right-hand turn, police said.
McCallion was back on the job yesterday and worked well into the evening.
Peel police Chief Mike Metcalf has directed the Traffic Services Bureau to investigate.
Metcalf acknowledged Traffic Services normally investigates accidents in which injuries are more severe, but because of the mayor's "high-profile position" in the community, he ordered the special bureau to help divisional officers.
Police, firefighters and paramedics rushed to the Wednesday evening accident scene. McCallion was examined by paramedics, but did not go to hospital.
"I'm doing fine, but my car isn't. The front was damaged," McCallion said less than two hours after the accident.
The initial police report deemed the car "undriveable," with extensive front-end damage, according to police.
The impact caused the car's airbags to deploy, police said.
Peel Insp. Paul Thorne, head of Traffic Services, said investigators are looking into several factors, including speed of the vehicle, wind and road conditions.
McCallion's car was not seized by police, added Thorne.
Thorne said the addition of his officers to the case will ensure the accident is investigated in the "best...most fairest and most unbiased manner."
McCallion said she was returning home from the Peel Police Services Board Awards ceremony at the Mississauga Convention Centre when the accident occurred.
Several City councillors have been lobbying the mayor to hire a driver for safety reasons, but she has ignored the warning, said Ward 6 Councillor George Carlson.
"The mayor shouldn't be on her own at night getting into her car," he said. "It's just not a smart thing with all the dark parking lots and underground parking lots. There are risks involved."
However, added Carlson, McCallion "scoffs" at suggestions she needs a driver.
"Someone in her position has a lot of things on her mind when it comes to this city and can be distracted very easily," he said. "(McCallion's) a good driver, but she can't do four things at once."
You can reach Louie Rosella at lrosella@mississauga.net.
[COMMENTS BY DON B. - ]