'I love you, bro!' Family, tow industry pay tribute to the operator killed during Monday's snowstorm
Family members and tow-truck operators gathered in Ottawa to honour one of their own, struck and killed while helping a driver during Monday's winter snowstorm.
Approximately 100 operators formed a convoy along the Queensway, from Coventry Road to the Canadian Tire Centre, to remember Phillip Smith on Thursday, and to remind motorists to move over for tow trucks and emergency vehicles.
The 33-year-old was struck and killed on Hwy. 417 on Monday afternoon under the White Lake Road overpass. Police say a westbound snowplow struck the tow truck operator while he was helping another driver.
“It’s heartbreaking, it really is,” Smith’s brother, Sebastian Smith tells CTV News Ottawa. "I love this turnout, my brother would love it; he would do the exact same."
Smith was surrounded by family and other tow operators.
"Love you bro."
The tragedy, affecting those in the tow industry and co-workers.
"You know, it touched me personally because he left me on Innes Road, going for this call; it could have been me, it could have been any of us," Charles Ajayi, a tow operator, said. "He just passed beside me, put on his beacon lights, ‘Charles, I’ll see you man,’ and that was the end. It’s scary man."
The ride was organized to pay tribute; but, also, to raise awareness of Ontario's 'Slow Down/Move Over' law.
“We’re out here, helping stranded motorists, in the worst of weather, in the worst of conditions," says Junior Latreille, organizer, who also runs a tow operator group on Facebook called 613-Wrecked. "We’re out there, for hours, just trying to make sure that everybody gets home safe at the end of the day,”
Under the Highway Traffic Act, all drivers are required to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles with its emergency lights activated. The law also includes tow trucks parked on the roadside with their amber lights flashing.
The circumstances of Monday's crash remain under investigation.
With files from CTV’s Dylan Dyson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.