CHEO sees a 'weekend like no other' and King Edward Avenue is Ottawa's red light district: Top stories this week

Ottawa hospitals have long waits to see a doctor in the emergency department, an Ottawa police officer dies in a collision and severe weather hits eastern Ontario.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week

CHEO describes 'weekend like no other' as patient counts surge

As Ottawa hospitals see a surge in demand for patients visiting the emergency department, CHEO reported a "spring weekend line no other" in its 48-year history.

"Our emergency department just had its busiest May ever and is on-pace to set a record for June," CHEO said in a tweet Sunday morning. "For the first time anyone can recall, we had *16* patients who were admitted that didn't have a bed to go to. So they stayed in 'emerg.'"

CHEO said that "created a gridlock effect", with patients and families waiting hours longer for care, while some planned procedures for the week were cancelled or rescheduled.

CHEO encouraged people to visit a family doctor or a nearby clinic if the condition didn't require an immediate trip to the hospital.

Meantime, new statistics show emergency room wait times at Ottawa hospitals are among the longest in Ontario.

In Ottawa, the average wait time to see a doctor for a first assessment in the emergency room was between 1.8 hours and 3.4 hours in April. Three Ottawa hospitals ranked in the bottom 12 for longest wait times in Ontario.

Ottawa police pledge full review after Sikh rally organizers arrested due to false tip

Ottawa police planned to meet with local Sikh leaders this week after a false bomb tip led to the arrest of two Sikh rally organizers near Parliament Hill on June 11.

Interim police chief Steve Bell also pledged the service would "fully review the incident" once an RCMP investigation into the matter is complete.

Police faced mounting questions about the arrests of the two men, with some calling for an investigation into those who alerted law enforcement about the men.

A "potential threat" prompted an evacuation of Parliament Hill and nearby streets for several hours. Following an investigation, police said there was no threat to public safety and the area reopened.

Ottawa police have closed Parliament Hill for an investigation. June 11, 2022. (Andrew Pinsent/Newstalk 580 CFRA)

Ottawa police officer, 28, killed in motorcycle crash

An Ottawa police officer who died in a motorcycle crash this week served several years in the Canadian military and joined the police service less than two years ago.

Vijayalayan Mathiyalaghan, 28, was killed in the single-vehicle crash on Tuesday night, CTV News first reported. The crash happened around 8:40 p.m. at the Highway 417-174 split.

Mathiyalaghan was hired to the Ottawa Police Service in November 2020 after studying police foundations at Algonquin College, sources told CTV News. He also served several years in the Canadian military.

Ottawa police officer Vijay Mathiyalaghan, 28, was killed in an off-duty motorcycle crash Tuesday night.

Investigators probe possible tornado near Carleton Place, Ont. during Thursday's storm

Residents and businesses spent Friday cleaning up in Belleville, Ont., while investigators probed a possible tornado in Carleton Place following a severe storm on Thursday.

Environment Canada issued a series of tornado watches and warnings for Ottawa and eastern Ontario on Thursday as severe weather moved across the province. Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project warned Wednesday that the storm would provide "significant ingredients" for a likely tornado.

The storm brought heavy rain and winds to Ottawa.

West of Ottawa, the Northern Tornadoes Project is investigating a possible tornado near Carleton Place.

Dave Sills of the Northern Tornadoes Project shared video on Twitter of what he called a "possible weak, brief tornado" with the "supercell" east of Carleton Place at approximately 4:12 p.m. Thursday.

In Belleville, several buildings were damaged along Front Street and other roads by the storm, and debris covered several streets.

Investigators believe a possible downburst hit between Belleville and Mallorytown.

Crews work on Ann Street in Belleville, Ont. on Friday, one day after a powerful storm hit the region. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Here are the top 10 Ottawa intersections for red light camera violations

King Edward Avenue is a hot spot for motorists running red lights, with thousands of drivers nabbed by city of Ottawa red light cameras.

Data posted on the city of Ottawa's "Open Ottawa" portal shows 53,956 tickets were issued by red light cameras at intersections across the city of Ottawa in 2021.  The three red light cameras on King Edward Avenue, between Besserer Street and the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, issued 8,500 tickets last year.

The camera on King Edward Avenue southbound at St. Patrick Street issued 5,868 tickets for red light running last year, the most of any camera in the city of Ottawa. The camera issued 4,739 tickets in 2019 and 3,202 tickets in 2020.

Here is a look at the top 10 locations for red light camera tickets issued in 2021

1. King Edward Avenue southbound at St. Patrick Street – 5,868 tickets
2. Russell Road southbound at St. Laurent Boulevard – 3,184 tickets
3. Walkley Road westbound at Don Reid Drive – 2,893 tickets
4. Hunt Club Road eastbound at Downpatrick/McCarty Road – 2,536 tickets
5. King Edward Avenue northbound at St. Andrew Street – 2,529 tickets
6. Kent Street northbound at Arlington – 1,957 tickets
7. Carling Avenue eastbound at Iroquois – 1,524 tickets
8. Prince of Wales Drive northbound at Hogs Back Road – 1,462 tickets
9. Bank Street northbound at Riverside Drive – 1,388 tickets
10. Berrigan Drive northbound at Wessex Road – 1,211 tickets

The city of Ottawa has added 20 new red light cameras to bring its total to 53.