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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Accident slows down fundraising journey

By: Jillian Austin

Posted: 08/23/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

JILLIAN AUSTIN / BRANDON SUN Mark DeMontis is skating to Vancouver to aid hockey for blind youths.

BRANDON -- A trek across Canada to raise money for charity came to a halt outside Carberry yesterday after a truck rear-ended the group's trailing RV.

Mark DeMontis' Quest to the West is a three-month inline skating journey from his hometown of Weston, Ont. to Vancouver. He is legally blind, and raising money for the organization he founded last year called Courage Canada -- Hockey for the Blind Inc.

DeMontis said the accident yesterday is just one of the snags that come with taking on such a major feat.

"Going into it you know there's going to be obstacles," DeMontis said. "Everyone's safe... and I'm going to make sure I conquer my goal."

Carberry RCMP Reserve Const. Dave Braham said the accident occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately five kilometres west of Carberry in the early afternoon.

"It appears that... they were rear-ended going westbound," he said.

A 24-year-old man from Austin, who was driving a Dodge pickup truck, has been charged under the Highway Traffic Act for following the vehicle too closely.

"The driver realized at the last minute that they were going very slow, and just clipped the corner of the RV," Braham said.

The truck was doing the legal speed limit at the time, Braham said, while the RV was travelling at about 20 kilometres per hour.

"It was substantial damage," Braham said. "Both vehicles are drivable, but well over $1,000 damage to each."

This part of the Trans-Canada does not have paved shoulders, which forced the skaters to travel in the driving lane.

"Unfortunately, we do have a lot of gravel shoulders," Braham said. "It does pose a bit of a hazard."

Luckily, no one was injured.

This isn't the first time a cross-country charity journey has been in an accident near Brandon.

A collision near Virden in July 2008 killed two cyclists who were part of the Ride of a Lifetime for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. They too were forced to travel on the highway, due to gravel shoulders.

Yesterday's mishap won't stop the Quest to the West crew from continuing on their mission today.

They were to pass through Brandon this afternoon.

The group, moving about 80 kilometres a day, set out from Weston, Ont. on June 27th, and DeMontis said they've been faced with challenges since Day 1.

"We haven't gone two days without rain, it's like there's a cloud following us," he said.

DeMontis, now 22, was diagnosed with a rare condition known as Leber's optic neuropathy and lost his sight.

Throughout his childhood and teenage years, he was an avid hockey player, with dreams of making it to the NCAA hockey level.

Despite the challenges, DeMontis persevered and joined a unique blind hockey team known as The Ice Owls, that travels and raises money for various causes. He also became a passionate motivational speaker.

In 2008, he launched Courage Canada, an organization which seeks to give blind youth across Canada the chance to learn and play hockey.

-- Brandon Sun

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 23, 2009 A5

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