This week in police news…

January 29, 2014 · 0 Comments

• Shelburne’s Hospitality and Efforts Eased Worries of Stranded Motorists during Massive Weekend Road Shut Down: Hundreds of out of town motorists used the arena as shelter over the weekend. Using the arena is part of Dufferin County’s Emergency Plan for just this type of situation.

During the course of the night and day the Shelburne Police received many compliments from motorists who spent numerous hours stranded in Shelburne on the weekend. They were impressed with how unselfishly and warmly many community residents, businesses and services made the stressful situation more comfortable and pleasant.

Many residents opened their homes to perfect strangers. Many business owners provided supplies and offered their parking lots to help out.

The Shelburne Police would like to thank the many residents who showed up at the arena on their own accord to lend a helping hand. Also thank you to local businesses that showed up and offered their services.

Hundreds of out of town motorists used the arena as shelter over the weekend. Using the arena is part of Dufferin County’s Emergency Plan for just this type of situation.

The Shelburne Police would like to acknowledge all the different community services, businesses and volunteers that worked co-operatively and with great effort to make the weekend emergency plan work successfully. Thank you to Dufferin Emergency Management, Dufferin OPP, Dufferin Paramedic Services, Shelburne and District Fire Department, Canadian Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance, Town of Shelburne Town Works and Administrative Staff, Dufferin County Staff, Neighbouring Township Staff, Snow Plow Operators, Tow Truck Companies and Hockey Tournament Volunteers.

• Ignoring Road Closures Can Be Dangerous and Costly: Over the weekend some motorists chose to ignore road closure signs and barriers. For some it cost a $110 ticket and 3 points on their driving record. For others it cost much more including towing costs, vehicle recovery costs, and vehicle damage costs. Further, insurance companies may question what a motorist was doing travelling on a closed highway.

Another risk of entering a closed highway is becoming stranded in winter storm conditions far from a town or place of shelter.

Many motorists may not realize that emergency services including towing trucks, snow plows, paramedics, fire and police may be working in white out conditions on these closed roadways. These emergency workers are there to rescue stranded drivers, recover vehicles and clear the snow – so that the road may eventually be opened safely. By-passing the road closure barriers put the safety of these workers at risk.

A more extreme example of this took place on Saturday afternoon. A motorist from Dundalk was speeding at 26 kph over the speed limit, travelling south bound on Victoria Street which was covered in snow and ice. The motorist then continued south on County Road 11 by-passing the road closure barriers. A Shelburne Police officer finally stopped the driver as he entered an area where numerous OPP officers, snow plows and tow truck operators were recovering multiple abandoned vehicles. The roadside investigation revealed that the driver was unlicensed. He was on two driving suspensions, one stemming from a recent impaired driving conviction. As a result of his reckless actions, 29 year old Emanual Pacheco is facing five charges under the highway traffic act, including speeding, drive on closed highway and two counts of driving while under suspension. The minimum fine for driving while under suspension is $1000 for a first time offence. The vehicle Pacheco was driving was impounded for seven days under the highway traffic act VIP provisions (vehicle impoundment program). Thank-fully none of the workers or officers on the closed highway were injured in this incident.