Police ID crash victims

Police have identified the victims of a fatal crash that took place on Highway 174 on Monday Jan. 29 as a 27-year-old woman from Ottawa and a 30-year-old man from Rockland.

Their names are being withheld at the request of the families, police say, adding the relationship between the two is not being released.

The two died after the white Dodge pickup they were in collided head-on with a transport truck just before 10 a.m. Monday on Highway 174 between Trim Road and Cameron Street. Police say the man was driving the pickup.

Const. Steven Desjourdy says police are still trying to piece together what happened, adding they suspect one of the drivers changed lanes, although that section of highway has a double solid line and doesn’t allow for passing.

Desjourdy says it’s hard to determine who is at fault. “Someone was in the wrong lane. The only thing is that when somebody is in the wrong lane, at the last second the person in the right lane often will veer left or right to avoid the other person.”

Since one driver will veer out of the way it can appear they were in the wrong lane, so police need to talk with witnesses and examine the skid marks to determine what happened.

At the time of the accident the roads were dry with clear visibility, police say.

Highway 174 was closed between Cameron Street and Trim Road most of Monday.

Firefighters had to pry off the roof and door of the pickup to get to those trapped inside. According to police a lot of the damage done to the pickup was the result of rescuers using the jaws of life. It took a couple of hours to free the bodies from the wreckage.

Debris from both vehicles was scattered across the highway while belongings from the pickup were thrown into the ditch and nearby trees. City staff members cleaned gasoline that had spewed from the transport truck’s fuel tanks.

The tractor trailer driver, a 46-year-old male from the Montréal area, escaped with minor injuries.

Ottawa Police Services collision unit is still investigating.

With files from Justin Sadler