ALFANO o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2007-08-25 published
Mom, 2 kids killed, son, dad injured in horrific crash
Police say the Hamilton-area crash occurred when a van ran a
stop sign.
By Rob LAMBERTI, Sun Media, Sat., August 25, 2007
Hamilton -- A family's plan of a new start to their lives ended
in tragedy when a van ran a stop sign and demolished their minivan
near Brantford, killing a mom and two of her kids.
Shannon O'LEARY, 32, and her two-month-old daughter Hailey
O'LEARY-
FERGUSON
died instantly in the 9: 06 p.m. Thursday crash at Brant County
Rd. 4 and the Burford-Delhi Townline Rd.
Shannon's daughter, Taylor
O'LEARY, 10, died at 3 a.m. yesterday
in Hamilton hospital, say Friends and neighbours, and her organs
were donated.
Her son, Ethan, 4, is in a medically induced coma following surgery
for severe head trauma and Shannon's husband, Dennis
FERGUSON,
is in stable condition.
The 21-year-old driver of the other van, a Chevy Astro, is in
grave condition. He is accused of running the stop sign and slamming
into the victims' northbound Pontiac Montana, which was almost
split in two by the tremendous impact.
Ariel VARGA, 12, said she's finding it difficult losing a close
friend. Taylor "was a good person. She was nice, She liked to
go shopping a lot," Ariel said. "She had lots of Friends around
here."
Friend Natalia
ALFANO, 9, said the neighbourhood girls would
play cheerleading, dolls and gymnastics. "It was really fun to
play with her," Natalia said. "We always used to laugh together
and play."
Ontario
Provincial
Police Const. Larry
PLUMMER said investigators
were told by a witness driving behind the Chevy Astro that there
were no brake lights before the Chevy crashed into the passenger
sliding door of the victims' Montana.
"It was an incredible, terrible impact," he said.
"We don't have a clue" why the driver failed to stop,
PLUMMER
said, adding the area is flat and it was a "beautiful moonlit
night."
"There's no rhyme or reason and the only person that obviously
knows was driving the vehicle and we don't expect to talk to
him for quite a while, if we ever do."
PLUMMER said it took Brant County volunteer firefighters about
20 minutes to free the trapped man.
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