Canada

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Driver error blamed for deadly crash

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/9/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

LONDON, Ont. -- A van carrying 13 poultry farm workers from South America drove right through a stop sign and into the path of a freightliner truck, police said Wednesday, citing driver error as the cause of one of Ontario's deadliest collisions.

Ten workers from the van and the truck driver died Monday after the violent impact sent the van hurtling across a lawn, trapping the dead and dying workers inside the wreckage.

All of the workers -- except one man originally from Nicaragua -- were Peruvian, some of whom arrived in Canada days before their deaths and some of whom had well-established lives here.

The driver, David Armando Hernandez Blancas, 45, was one of the workers killed in the crash and had been in Ontario for some time, living in New Hamburg, not far from the crash site. He had an Ontario driver's licence, but not the type required to drive a van of that size, investigators said.

"This crash did not have to happen," said Chief Supt. John Cain of Ontario Provincial Police. "These lives need not have been lost. Driver error is the largest contributing factor to collisions in Ontario."

La Republica, a newspaper in Peru, reported that seven of those killed were from one family and the others were fathers and sons.

One of the victims was Enrique Arturo Arenaza Leon, 47, a former professional soccer player with Alianza Lima. In 1987 he missed a chartered flight with his teammates and the plane crashed, killing everyone on board except the pilot.

Leon had been in Canada since at least March 2010, when he posted a photo to Facebook of him standing on an apartment balcony on a snowy day. He didn't appear to be a big fan of Canada's winters, as he commented in English on another photo of himself from Jan. 5, 2011: "snow no good."

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 9, 2012 A8

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Canada

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.