Heather Wright/The Independent

There are calls for improvements to Courtright Line after two people died in a Thanksgiving weekend accident.

And St. Clair’s mayor says he’s already asked Lambton County officials to take a look at any issues that may have contributed to the loss of a Brigden teen and an elderly driver.

Oct. 13, around 2:15 pm, Lambton OPP were called to the scene with St. Clair Fire and paramedics and found the three vehicle accident including a larger truck. One driver, a 19 year-old from St. Clair Township, was pronounced dead at the scene. Family has identified the victim as Noah Nicholson. The LCCVI graduate was working at Lambton County Developmental Services while attending Lambton College.

Police said a the time of the crash another driver was transported to hospital by paramedics with life-threatening injuries. OPP now say the second driver has since died as a result of injuries sustained in the collision.

St. Clair Township Councillor Brad Langstaff called Nicholson “an absolute, real, special young man whose family has a huge part in this community.”

Online, friends left tributes to the Bridgen teen calling his death a tragedy. “Noah was kind and his smirk made you question what he was thinking of and what he would say next, the kid could pull a foul in basketball on a layup that always had me laughing. The loss of Noah is a tragedy. We are all better having known him,” said Rebecca Brander.

The OPP’s Traffic Incident Management Enforcement Team is still working to determine the cause of the crash.

But St. Clair residents are voicing concern about Courtright Line at both Mandaumin, where the accident occurred and Kimball Sideroad.

Kailey Dalgety started an online petition to get municipal and county officials to do something about the intersection. 

“Thanksgiving weekend is especially dangerous as the amount of traffic from the Brigden Fair increases the local traffic tenfold and everyone is inevitably in a rush to get to and from the fair and to and from their holiday gatherings,” she said in the petition. 

But Dalgety says the road is not just a problem during the fair.

“My spouse is a first responder and has attended at the scenes of a handful of fatalities at these specific intersections since we moved to the area in 2018. It has been at least one fatality a year and yet absolutely no action has been taken by the municipality to prevent this from happening again,” she said.

“I am not sure what the ideal solution is but rumble strips, four-way stops and roundabouts have been shown to reduce speed which is a big factor in fatal accidents.”

St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar agrees speed could be an issue along Courtright Line. “All these county roads are all at 90 (km/h)… I’m not in agreement with the 90 kilometre per hour speed limit…Put it this way, if you’re at 90 as your speed limit, you’re driving 100 not personally, but they’re driving 100 …it’s just mind boggling to me.”

Agar spoke with Dalgety about the issue and has sent the petition on to the county as well to consider if there are any design issues which could be improved. Agar says he’s not sure if larger stop signs, rumble strips or lights at the corner would improve safety there, but he says the county will talk to the OPP before making any recommendations for changes.

Tuesday, Agar went to a celebration of life for Nicholson at the Brigden Fairgrounds. He said the room was packed with people. 

“Family and friends were so important to Noah,” his family wrote in his obituary. “He had a real ability to make a friend of anyone. He cared deeply for people and loved working at LCDS while attending Lambton College. He was an amazing brother to his two sisters and had a special bond with each of them. He was a wonderful son and shared a beautiful, loving relationship with both of his parents. 

“His great sense of humour always brought laughter and light to any room he entered.”

For the sake of families like the Nicholson’s and first responders, Dalgety hopes her petition, which now has almost 2,300 signatures, will spark change.

“Although I am confident the appropriate charges will be laid by the OPP at the conclusion of their investigation if there is a driver at fault, that does not bring the victims back to their families and it certainly won’t prevent this from happening again in the future.

“My hope is to have this addressed before the weather gets bad and the probability of another serious accident in our community arises.”