Two dead after pileup on the 401 in Ajax

Two people are dead after a horrific crash on the 401 in Ajax Wednesday morning.

Shortly after 6:00am, police responded to reports of an eight vehicle pileup in the eastbound lanes near Westney Road.

One vehicle, an SUV, was found wedged between two tractor trailers, while a pickup truck had slammed into the back of one of the transports.

Firefighters worked to rescue the SUV driver but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

The pickup truck driver was rushed to hospital with life threatening injuries but died a short time later.

All lanes of the highway were closed until approximately 3:00pm while police investigated the cause of the crash. Three right lanes remained closed into the afternoon rush.

2nd man is now dead as a result of collision at Hwy401 EB at Harwood Ave earlier today pic.twitter.com/2oCYv62WI7

— Sgt Kerry Schmidt (@OPP_HSD) September 23, 2015

Source: 680News

Don Valley Parkway to close this weekend for Fall maintenance

If you're heading downtown this weekend, you'll need to find an alternate route if you usually take the Don Valley Parkway.

Crews will be shutting down the DVP from the Gardiner up to the 401 starting at 8:00pm on Saturday, September 26th. It will reopen on Monday, September 28th at 5:00am, just in time for the morning rush.

While the closure is a pain for local drivers, it allows the city to catch up on badly needed repairs ahead of the winter. Crews will be out patching up pot holes, replacing lights, inspecting bridges, and cleaning out catch basins.

If you're looking for an alternate route, Bayview and Don Mills will likely be your best bets, but expect them to be a lot busier than usual.

Photo by Alaney2k via Wikipedia. Used under Creative Commons 2.0 license. 

Volkswagen recalling cars with wonky emissions tests

Volkswagen Group has announced they will be recalling 500,000 diesel cars that used software to falsify emissions test results.

The automaker will also stop selling both new and used 2015 and 2016 models that were equipped with the 4-cylinder "clean diesel" engine.

Speaking to the New York Times, Martin Winterkorn apologized for the company's antics.

“I am personally deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public,” he said in a statement, adding that the company would “fully cooperate” with both federal and independent investigations."

Late last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated the company had violated the Clean Air Act by intentionally installing software to evade pollution regulations.

The vehicles in question will only activate their full emissions control system only if they're plugged into an emissions testing device. During normal driving, the effectiveness of the control system was said to be greatly reduced. The EPA notes that this exposed people to harmful pollutants.

Included in the recall are diesel powered Volkswagen Jetta, Beetle, Golf, and Audi A3 from the 2009 to 2014 model years, as well as the 2014 to 2015 Volkswagen Passat.

The company's gasoline powered vehicles are not affected.

Volkswagen Group could face steep fines of up to $18 billion dollars over this incident. Winterkorn promised the company would “do everything in order to reverse the damage this has caused.”

Source: New York Times, via The Consumerist

Fiat-Chrysler recalls RAM trucks over faulty airbags

Another week, another bunch of recalls from embattled automaker Fiat-Chrysler. The company has announced it will be calling back 1.2 million RAM trucks across North America.

There's actually three problems here involving 2012 to 2014 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks and 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs.

This latest recall has to do with, you guessed it, airbags.

The drivers' side airbag has been known to inadvertently deploy without being involved in an actual crash. This has led to at least two known injuries. Furthermore, the side curtain airbags do not completely cover the vehicle pillars, which violates federal regulations.

Lastly, improper welds have been cited on the trucks' steering system. Tests have shown that if the welds break, you won't loose steering completely, but it will be significantly impaired. This has caused at least one minor crash.

The recall notice affects 236,000 trucks here in Canada. Owners will be notified by the company and dealers will repair the vehicles.

Source: Autoblog

Emergency crews rescue baby from hot car, find it wasn't a baby at all

The rescue of a child from a hot car took a creepy turn on Monday.

Emergency crews in Oakland, California were called for reports of a baby left unattended inside a hot car. When they arrived on scene, police found the child unresponsive.

Officers smashed the vehicle's window and pulled the baby to safety, only to realize that the baby was actually a lifelike doll.

“Although this incident did not involve a baby or small child, it was unknown at the time, and first responders’ number one priority is to ensure … safety,” a spokesman for Oakland Police told ABC News.

It's not clear why the doll was left inside the vehicle strapped to a car seat. Authorities have not said whether they have spoken to the owner.

Despite this one odd case, police are reminding people to report all incidents of children or animals being left unattended in vehicles. 

“We encourage anyone who believes there is a dangerous situation such as this incident to contact emergency personnel so we can make that determination.” 

File this one under creepy.

ABC News: Emergency Crews Smash Car Window to Rescue Baby, Find Lifelike Doll in Car Seat

Photo by Alan Levine via Flickr. Used under CC 2.0 license.

GO Transit service changes go into effect next week

Back-to-school will mean some big changes for your transit schedule.

GO Transit is revamping its travel times to accommodate the influx of passengers. Kitchener riders will see the biggest boost with 14 new trips being added.

• Five new eastbound trips from Mount Pleasant GO, departing at 9:55 and 11:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, 1:00 and 2:00 p.m., making all stops to Union, arriving at 10:49 and 11:54 a.m., 12:54, 1:54 and 2:54 p.m.
• Two new eastbound trips from Mount Pleasant GO, departing at 3:00 and 3:47 p.m., making all stops to Malton, then express to Union, arriving at 3:54 and 4:34 p.m.

• Seven new westbound trips from Union Station making all stops to Mount Pleasant GO Station
• Hourly departures from Union starting 8:48 a.m. and until 2:48, with hourly arrivals at Mount Pleasant beginning 9:37 a.m. and until 3:37 p.m.

• The 9:39 a.m. eastbound trip from Bramalea will now depart there at 9:16, and times at all other stops will also be earlier. This trip will be extended to begin at Mount Pleasant, departing there at 9:00 a.m., serve Brampton GO, then make all stops to Union, arriving at 9:53 a.m.
• The 7:08 a.m. eastbound trip from Georgetown will now depart there and at all other stops five minutes earlier, with arrival at Union at 7:55 a.m.
• The 7:05 a.m. eastbound trip from Kitchener will now depart there and at all other stops five- minutes later, with arrival at Union now 9:13 a.m.

Additional bus trips are also being added to help university students get to their classes. Service changes go into effect on September 5th. You can grab the complete list off GO Transit's website.

Unstable Trump Tower antenna combs over Bay

Bay Street remains closed between King and Richmond Tuesday as crews scramble to repair an unstable antenna atop the Trump Tower.

The antenna, which was presumably disturbed by a slight breeze, is swaying precariously over the street below. Toronto Police had expected it to reopen to traffic by Noon but are still awaiting approval by structural engineers.

The TTC's 6 Bay bus is diverting northbound via Yonge, Richmond and southbound via Queen, University, Queens Quay as a result.

Engineers continue work on #TrumpUnstableAntenna~Bay St will not open up at noon~Officials hoping to open roads later in afternoon Sep1 ^sm

— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) September 1, 2015

Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr. Used under CC 2.0 license

Chrysler gets friend zoned by GM, keeps trying to get picked up

It's not secret that 2015 has not been a good year for Fiat-Chrysler. From record fines to flaming Jeeps, it seems they can't just get their act together.

CEO Sergio Marchionne has a solution though. That solution is dumping the embattled automaker's rotting carcass onto Detroit rival General Motors.

"We're not talking about marginal improvement in margins," he said in an interview with Automotive News.

“Look, the combined entity can make $30 billion a year in cash. Thirty. Just think about that [expletive] number,” he said.

General Motors is far less enthusiastic about Marchionne's proposed merger.

Despite claims of huge profits, the auto giant and its shareholders feel they'd be better off going it alone. Commenting on the proposed merger, a GM executive asked "Why should [GM] bail out FCA?"

Marchionne claims that General Motors has stopped taking his calls. However, he insists he will keep putting on the pressure.

Source: Automotive News

New Ontario distracted driving laws come into effect today

Playing with the idiot box is about to cost you a whole lot more in Ontario as new traffic laws come into effect Tuesday.

The province is cracking down on distracted driving, as well as those who fail to move over for emergency vehicles.

Using a mobile device behind the wheel will now cost you a minimum of $490 and 3 demerit points. Novice drivers will also face a 30-day license suspension.

The Province says that distracted driving is one of the leading causes of road fatalities, and expects it to exceed even impaired driving by 2016.

The new laws also give a boost to cycling safety. Drivers will now be required to leave one meter's space when passing riders. Those who open their door into the path of oncoming cyclists and traffic will face steep fines of $365 and 3 demerit points.

Police are also cracking down on riders with inadequate lighting. Bikes are required to have a white front light and a red rear light or reflector if you ride between ½ hour before sunset and ½ hour after sunrise, and white reflective tape on the front forks and red reflective tape on rear forks. Failure to comply could result in a $110 fine.

Lastly, the Province is also stepping up safety for tow trucks. Drivers will now be required to move over one lane if they see a tow with its amber lights on. This brings them into line with emergency vehicles.

You can read full details on these new laws on the Province of Ontario's website.

Photo by frankieleon via Flickr. Used under CC 2.0 license