A cattle tractor-trailer driver and an off-duty OPP officer narrowly avoided a head-on collision with an oncoming transport on Highway 17 west of Bruce Mines last month.
Just released video shows that on April 29, shortly after 5:30 p.m., an off-duty East Algoma OPP officer was driving a personal vehicle to work for a night shift in Thessalon.
The off-duty officer was behind an eastbound fully loaded tractor-trailer carrying cattle. An oncoming white tractor-trailer with a white boxed trailer was travelling westbound on Highway 17 and crossed the centre line into the eastbound lane. The cattle truck driver quickly pulled to the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision. The driver was successful in maintaining control as the cattle load had shifted.
Once the cattle truck swerved to the shoulder the off-duty officer saw the westbound white tractor-trailer approaching their vehicle. With debris skidding across the roadway the officer was able to manoeuvre onto the shoulder, narrowly avoiding rolling into the south ditch.
The white westbound tractor-trailer returned to the westbound lane and continued westbound on Highway 17.
The East Algoma Detachment of the OPP continued its investigation and obtained dashcam footage from the trucking company transporting the cattle. With the assistance from Caledon OPP Detachment on May 25, shortly after 1 p.m., OPP arrested the driver of the westbound tractor trailer in the Town of Caledon.
As a result, Jagvinder Singh Dhindsa, 32, from Brampton is charged with:
- Dangerous operation
- Careless driving
- Speeding
- Unsafe move-lane or shoulder
- Fail to share half roadway - meeting vehicle
- Two counts of failing to take 10 hours off in a day
- Two counts of entering inaccurate information in the record
- Fail to accurately complete daily inspection report
- Drive after 14 hours on duty in a day
- Fail to maintain a daily log
- Enter inaccurate information in the record
The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Elliot Lake on July 11.
#EastAlgomaOPP have arrested and charged a CMV driver with numerous HTA and CC offences after a near head-on collision on Hwy 17 near Thessalon. Luckily nobody was injured and dashcam video was captured. #DriveSafe, stay awake, #DriveSober and no #DistractedDriving. ^py pic.twitter.com/HPGkfprTcJ
— OPP North East Region (@OPP_NER) May 25, 2024
