Teen charged after 7 spilled from truck in crash

KELLY PEDRO, Free Press Reporter 2003-06-19 03:51:10

An 18-year-old high school student was charged with careless driving after a two-vehicle collision spilled seven teens in the back of a pickup truck into a ditch. The Tuesday morning crash in north London left a 14-year-old girl in serious condition.

Mark Ryan O'Neil was also charged with a driver's license offence for having more people than seat-belts in a vehicle.

Nine teens, 14 to 19, were packed into the pickup that collided with a minivan on Fallon Drive and Mitchell Line near Granton.

The intersection is controlled by two stop signs on Fallon Drive. The impact of the collision caused the pickup to roll on its side, spilling the seven teens riding in the truck's bed into a grassy ditch.

Amy Campbell, 14, of Denfield and Jonas Olson-Ewart, 18, of Delaware were taken to a London hospital. Olson-Ewart was treated and released. Campbell remains in serious condition. No one else was seriously hurt. "(They're) very fortunate young people," said OPP Senior Const. Luke George.

The teens are all students at Medway secondary school in Arva and were supposed to be in school at the time of the crash.

But with the school year wrapping up and the warmer weather, some students may arrive for school in the morning, skip classes all day and make it back in time to catch the bus home, George said.

"From working in the high schools, I can tell you students do become truant in some schools this time of year," he said.

"It's exam time. This is a time of year where students get pretty excited," said Chris Dennett, spokesperson for the Thames Valley District school board.

Summer usually brings the highest number of teen fatalities, said Gary Direnfeld, executive director of the I Promise Program aimed at reducing the number of youth-related car crashes.

"It's the end of the school year and teenagers feel emancipated -- and with that emancipation comes celebration and they celebrate in a way that takes risks," he said.

With more free time, teens also spend more time on the road, he said, adding that's why it's important for parents to monitor their children.

"I don't want parents to feel should've, could've, would've. The guilt for not having done everything you could do is too tremendous," he said.

Contact information:

Gary Direnfeld, MSW, Executive Director
I Promise Program Inc.
20 Suter Crescent,
Dundas, Ontario, Canada
L9H 6R5

(905) 628-4847
garydi@sympatico.ca
www.ipromiseprogram.com