itsasurewin
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Big reason why fire extinguishers should always be properly secured and mounted on any vehicle.
Company charged for fire extinguisher death on QEW
Published On Fri Dec 9 2011Email Print
Rss ArticleZoe McKnight
Staff Reporter
An Etobicoke waste management company has been charged after a motorist was killed by a fire extinguisher that crashed through the windshield of his SUV this summer.
Miguel Pena, 43, was driving westbound on the Queen Elizabeth Way near Mississauga Rd. around 8 a.m. on Sept. 1 when the fire extinguisher fell off a garbage truck that was driving in front of his Toyota RAV4.
The fire extinguisher bounced up from the highway and smashed through the windshield on the driver’s side. Pena’s SUV then crossed three lanes of traffic before swerving off the road, where it hit a tree, a highway sign and a fence before coming to a rest.
An autopsy later determined that Pena, a father of one, died from the impact of the fire extinguisher, not the subsequent crash.
The truck was similar to a transport truck but with a garbage compacter. The driver was not charged, said Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.
In some cases involving commercial vehicles, the driver and the company are both liable, but “the company is wholly responsible for the safety and compliance of the vehicle,” Schmidt said.
In this case, where the fire extinguisher should have been secured to the outside of the truck, it was found to be a “company issue, not the independent driver.”
U-Pak Disposals has been charged under the Highway Traffic Act.
The charges include operating an unsafe commercial motor vehicle and operating a vehicle with parts detached. Each comes with a maximum penalty of $20,000.
No trial date has been set.
Company charged for fire extinguisher death on QEW
Published On Fri Dec 9 2011Email Print
Rss ArticleZoe McKnight
Staff Reporter
An Etobicoke waste management company has been charged after a motorist was killed by a fire extinguisher that crashed through the windshield of his SUV this summer.
Miguel Pena, 43, was driving westbound on the Queen Elizabeth Way near Mississauga Rd. around 8 a.m. on Sept. 1 when the fire extinguisher fell off a garbage truck that was driving in front of his Toyota RAV4.
The fire extinguisher bounced up from the highway and smashed through the windshield on the driver’s side. Pena’s SUV then crossed three lanes of traffic before swerving off the road, where it hit a tree, a highway sign and a fence before coming to a rest.
An autopsy later determined that Pena, a father of one, died from the impact of the fire extinguisher, not the subsequent crash.
The truck was similar to a transport truck but with a garbage compacter. The driver was not charged, said Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.
In some cases involving commercial vehicles, the driver and the company are both liable, but “the company is wholly responsible for the safety and compliance of the vehicle,” Schmidt said.
In this case, where the fire extinguisher should have been secured to the outside of the truck, it was found to be a “company issue, not the independent driver.”
U-Pak Disposals has been charged under the Highway Traffic Act.
The charges include operating an unsafe commercial motor vehicle and operating a vehicle with parts detached. Each comes with a maximum penalty of $20,000.
No trial date has been set.