April fools day 1999, I left Ignace, ON on Hwy17 east bound with clear skies and a slight easterly wind. I had an empty 53' trailer. I had been running in good warm weather and had taken my winter front off. About a half hour out of Ignace it started to snow, within 15 minutes the road was covered and you couldn't see 50' in front of you (There are no shoulders on this highway so you are at the mercy of the elements and have to carry on.) My windshield was icing up huge time and even with the heat up full (the Detroit diesel wouldn't make enough heat to keep things all that warm in the heater core without the winter front). I pulled over at English River where I knew there was a spot big enough for me. I put my winter front on, two trucks passed me, a wood chip train (2 trailers) and a freight hauler. I got back on the road, by this time there was a good 6-8 inches of snow on the road and we still couldn't see any more than 50' in front.
Six miles east of English River there is a passing lane for the eastbound side. A fellow ran down the road waving his arms over his head, Oh-Oh something has happened....I stopped and the guy told me that 150' up ahead there was two tractor trailers in a head on accident and two dead drivers on the road..... I eased on up a little closer, and sure enough there was a 'Cabbage patch Freightliner' with the hood, steer axle and cab gone, the frame of the tractor was under the trailer.
One driver did a 'face plant' onto the pavement, his ears were flush with the asphalt, head caved in and very dead. The other driver had his legs cut off at the knees, he bled to death. I told the guy that stopped me that in the winter time it is very unlikely you will find a driver driving in his underwear. The one that did the face plant was in the bunk. He never knew what hit him. Somewhere there was a third driver.
I heard some rustling like branches scraping together and in that neck of the woods when you hear 'out of place' sounds you holler and hope to get a holler back. I did.
The third driver was pinned by his left foot under the clutch pedal in his Western Star day cab (he was hauling the chip train), with the lead trailer leaning over and resting on the right rear corner of the cab. I stayed with the only driver that was alive and kept him warm, (in winter I always carried a heavy winter coat with me), and talking.
From the time the OPP were called and the fellow doing the calling was the freight hauler that passed me at English River, he used his qualcom to call his dispatcher in Winnipeg, MB, (no cell service up there, then), the dispatcher called the OPP he confirmed with me via the CB that it was Upsala Detachment of the OPP that was needed. [The dividing line for Upsala/Ignace Opp is English River.] It took the cops 3 hours to get there. (35 miles) They had to get plowed into the scene. Needless to say that road was closed for about 10 hours. The cars and pickups were all turned around and rerouted another way, but the big trucks had to stay. (Something about a 5 ton bridge on the detour route.)
Another nightmare realized.
