Motorcycle rider wants province to act after friend killed on muddy highway

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This article was published 28/09/2022 (1120 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At first the motorcycle riders thought they were coming onto a patch of new pavement on Provincial Road 311 last Saturday afternoon — not a mud slick after a morning of light rain.

Five of the six riders lost control on the road near the intersection with Road 36E northeast of Steinbach at about 1 p.m., and 45-year-old Denis L’Heureux, who was in the lead, was thrown from his bike into the opposite lane, where an oncoming pickup truck struck him.

L’Heureux was pronounced dead at the scene, Manitoba RCMP said Monday. His 12-year-old daughter, who was his passenger, his wife, two sons, a brother-in-law and a friend, Brian Elcheshen, were uninjured physically.

Elcheshen, 47, said their bikes completely lost control: “You had to hang on and hope.”

The tragedy could have been prevented had the mud been properly cleaned from the road and signs had been posted warning of the danger, said both Elcheshen and Doug Houghton, director of the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups.

Reports have suggested the mud on the road was left by agricultural equipment, Houghton said.

“This is a common problem that occurs each autumn when agricultural operators are in a hurry to remove crops before winter and is of particular concern this year, with the frequency of rainfall. It is also a common occurrence on roads and streets adjoining construction sites,” Houghton wrote in a letter to the province and Manitoba Public Insurance.

Houghton said most farmers and construction operators try to clear roads of mud after it’s been tracked on, but what remains is a hazard.

“When you get wet weather conditions it can be very slick,” he told the Free Press. “It’s worse than ice on the road in the winter, it’s very greasy.”

In the letter, Houghton asked the province to consider legislation requiring reflective signs to be posted where mud has been tracked and cleaned from a road, warning of danger ahead.

“Don’t make it onerous, make it a simple process and then I think most landowners would co-operate — we don’t want to see this happen again,” he said, suggesting equipment operators could keep the signs in vehicle cabs.

Elcheshen said the mud wasn’t identifiable when the riders approached it when riding west.

“It looked like a huge asphalt patch, shoulder-to-shoulder, the length of a football field,” he said, adding the group began to slow down.

“When we hit that road, it was smooth. You had no idea it was mud until you were almost in it, and by then you couldn’t turn. It was like going from pavement to ice.”

Elcheshen was second to L’Heureux, and slid past him, ending up in the ditch along with the victim’s daughter.

The first RCMP vehicle that arrived at the scene had trouble stopping on the mud before ambulances and passersby stopped to help, stirring up the slick on the road, Elcheshen said, adding signs indicating mud on the road or that farm equipment had crossed would have prevented the crash, noting he has heard the pavement had been muddy for several days.

“It was the day after the accident, or that evening maybe, that they finally cleared it,” he said.

The days since have been tough for Elchelshen, who became close friends with L’Heureux during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I don’t think you could find a person that would have a bad thing to say about him. He was just one of those guys that everybody liked, everybody wanted to be around,” said Elchelshen, whose children went to school with L’Heureux’s.

“Everybody loved him.”

Houghton knew L’Heureux and his daughter is close with the family. He said his daughter texted him about the loss.

“It shook me up — I shook — to fathom the situation when you’re dealing with people you know,” he said.

A provincial spokesperson said depositing anything such as mud on a highway that could hurt a person, animal or vehicle is prohibited under the Highway Traffic Act, as is not removing a substance left on a highway.

“Both offences are subject to a preset fine of $298; however, law enforcement officers may opt not to ticket for the offence, and instead, require the offender to attend court where a justice may assess a fine up to $2,000,” the spokesperson said in an email.

The spokesperson said Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure is aware of a pilot project in Ontario to address the dangers of mud on roads, which requires two road signs to be placed before and after the entrance to the farm or field, warning motorists of the mud and that they should proceed with caution.

“MTI will continue to monitor the outcome of the Ontario pilot and take this suggestion under consideration,” said the spokesperson, who confirmed the department has received Houghton’s letter.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera