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07/25/2005
Woman survives 8-car collision
Walked away from crash with minor injuries `I hung onto the steering wheel for dear life`
A woman driving one of eight vehicles caught up in a horrific crash north of Toronto Saturday said she saw the collision com-ing and couldn`t do a thing about it.
"I just closed my eyes and hung on to the steering wheel for dear life," said Amy Blanchard, who escaped with minor injuries af-ter the crash.
Police blame the accident on two drivers, one of whom has been charged with impaired driving and criminal negligence. Charges against the second driver are pending, police said.
Len Porter. who rushed to Blanchard`s aid, said he was at his house just outside Bradford when the "boom, boom, boom" of crashing cars and trucks rang out at about 5:20 PmL Saturday. "It sounded like explosions,` he said.
At that point, both drivers lost control of their vehicles, skid-ded into the northbound lanes and hit a string of six oncoming cars. Const. Ian Fyfe of York Region alleges one of the drivers had been drinking,. "The other one, we don`t have anything back Yet"
The driver of the minivan, a 33 -year-old Keswzck man, faces multiple charges, including im-paired driving causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing bodily harm, police said. Blanchard, 34, said she was driving her `89 Cavalier north on Yonge when she heard the sound of screeching tires.
She looked to her left and saw the speeding pickup truck in the southbound lane hurtling into the northbound lane. It plowed into the car beside her.
Then it was Blanchard`s turn to be hit. The car on her left was ricocheting into her. Blanchard shut her eyes before the impact. When she opened them again her car had come to a stop in a grassy ditch by the side of the road. "I got out because I saw smoke or steam coming out of the en-gine," she said. Thinking her car was about to explode, she began to get out. That`s when she noticed her door was damaged. For a mo-ment, she thought she was trapped. "I hit it and got it open," she said. She staggered away from her car, blood from the back of her
head pouring over her neck and face. Some distance from the wreckage of her car, she finally sat down, just as Porter arrived at her side. She was trying to get to her feet. Porter told her she shouldn`t stand up. He wanted her to wait for an ambulance.
But Blanchard rose. "I had to get up because I was starting to stiffen up," she said. Until that moment she still hadn`t seen the full extent of the chain-reaction crash. "That`s when I saw how bad it was. There was debris all over the road. The vehicle that hit me was mangled on the driver`s
Porter said it looked like a twister had touched down on the road. Everywhere he looked, he saw "mangled-up steel." In one car, he said, "there was a guy screaming in pain." "I was one of the lucky ones," Blanchard said yesterday. "But it doesn`t take away the pain." She received two stitches on the back of her head but other-wise escaped with scrapes, cuts, and large black and orange bruises covering her arms. She said doctors told her she also had a mild concussion.
"Every time I close my eyes I see that truck flying over the middle of the road," said Blachard, adding she slept only an head pouring over her neck and face. Some distance from the wreckage of her car, she finally sat down, just as Porter arrived at her side.
She was trying to get to her feet. Porter told her she shouldn`t stand up. He wanted her to wait for an ambulance.
But Blanchard rose. "I had to get up because I was starting to stiffen up," she said. Until that moment she still hadn`t seen the full extent of the chain-reaction crash. "That`s when I saw how bad it was. There was debris all over the road. The vehicle that hit me was mangled on that driver`s
Porter said it looked like a twister had touched down on the road. Everywhere he looked, he saw "mangled-up steel." In one car, he said, "there was a guy screaming in pain." "I was one of the lucky ones," Blanchard said yesterday. "But it doesn`t take away the pain." She received two stitches on the back of her head but other-wise escaped with scrapes, cuts, and large black and orange bruises covering her arms. She said doctors told her she also had a mild concussion.
"Every time I close my eyes I see that truck flying over the middle of the road," said Blachard, adding she slept only an head pouring over her neck and face. Some distance from the wreckage of her car, she finally sat down, just as Porter arrived at her side.
She was trying to get to her feet. Porter told her she shouldn`t stand up. He wanted her to wait for an ambulance. But Blanchard rose. "I had to get up because I was starting to stiffen up," she said. Until that moment she still hadn`t seen the full extent of the chain-reaction crash. "That`s when I saw how bad it was. There was debris all over the road. The vehicle that hit me was mangled on that driver`s hour Saturday night.
In all, 11 people were taken to hospital, two by helicopter. Po-lice said several were released from hospital with minor inju-ries. Two of the crash victims were in critical condition Sunday. A 54-year-old female passenger in one of the vehicles struck was pronounced dead at the scene, but paramedics revived her in the ambulance.
Police are looking for witness-es to the accident or the events that preceded it. Anyone with information is asked to call York Region police traffic service-
1-905-830-0303, ext. 7703, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.