MANITOWANING – It was a tragic weekend on Highway 6 with the Manitoulin detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigating two fatalities, a single vehicle collision near Manitowaning and a pedestrian struck and killed in Espanola, all in the early morning hours of Saturday and Sunday.
The OPP reports that on Sunday, June 13 at approximately 1:50 am, members of the Manitoulin OPP, with the assistance of Sudbury-Manitoulin paramedic services and the Assiginack fire department, responded to a single motor vehicle collision on Highway 6 in Assiginack township.
A pick-up truck travelling southbound left the roadway which resulted in a rollover. The driver of the vehicle, 18-year-old Aidan Joncas of Atikameksheng First Nation, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The Northeast Region Traffic Incident Management and Enforcement Team (TIME), and the technical collision investigators, are continuing the investigation.
In tributes pouring in online, Mr. Joncas is described as a happy, kind-hearted person who was funny, outgoing and caring and will be missed by many family and friends.
One day before the Manitowaning tragedy, on Saturday, June 12, police responded to a pedestrian that had been struck and killed in Espanola.
At approximately 12:49 am on Saturday night, officers received a report of a pedestrian walking on the roadway on Highway 6, north of the bridge in Espanola. When officers responded they found a deceased person on the south lane of Highway 6. The OPP’s TIME team, including a technical collision investigator and a reconstructionist, are assisting with this investigation under the direction of the OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch. The Office of the Chief Coroner, Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, is also assisting. The name of the victim had not been released as of press time Monday.
Police are seeking the public’s assistance with this investigation. Any person with information regarding this incident should immediately contact the Manitoulin OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit information online at www.sudburycrimestoppers.com, where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.
Police and fire also responded to a single vehicle collision on Highway 542 at Silver Bay Road in Central Manitoulin on Saturday. The driver was extricated from the upturned vehicle and was taken to the Mindemoya hospital with minor injuries. As a result, police have charged Pierino Fellin, age 60, of Mindemoya with impaired driving.
