A 65-year-old man was seriously injured after a driver passed a road closed barricade near Shakespeare, Ont. and hit him. The man is Dave Pettitt, a long-time cameraman with CKCO/CTV Kitchener. His family has given CTV News permission to identify him. Pettitt was filming the scene of a three-vehicle crash on Line 34, between Road 102 and 104, on Thursday afternoon. Ontario Provincial Police had set up road closed barricades in the area while they investigated the collision. They said a driver went through one of those barricades and hit Pettitt. He was taken to a hospital in Stratford with serious, life-threatening injuries. Pettitt’s family got the call Thursday evening. “I was told he was alive and that he was being taken care of, but in terms of what that looked like, no one really could say,” Carla Pettitt, Dave’s wife, said. Dave’s family was told he had a head injury, facial fractures, a C1 neck fracture, a shattered elbow and trauma to his leg. Pettitt’s family told CTV News on Friday his condition had stabilized. A witness told CTV News she saw the collision. “He was wearing a safety vest,” Stacy Koot recalled. “His back was to the traffic, he was right beside the road closed sign so he didn’t know that the car was going to hit him.” Koot said the road was clearly closed. “I thought to myself, ‘He’s coming really fast, should I honk at him?’ But I thought surely there’s no way he’s not going to stop. There’s this huge sign right there,” Koot said. OPP did not share any further details about the collision, including whether any charges would be laid against the driver. “It was a road closed sign barricade, it had flashing lights on it and it’s very distinct,” OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk said. “There were orange pylons out in front of it as well.” “I hope that [the driver] really thinks about the actions of what they’ve done because they have devastated a family,” Carla Pettitt said. A dedicated photojournalist Pettitt is known as a talented photojournalist among his colleagues. His dedication for informing the community is clear in every story he covers. “That’s his passion,” Carla Pettitt said. “He’s 65 and he had no intention of retiring.” Dave has been with CTV, and formerly with CKCO, since 1985. Another driver blows by barricade OPP said two drivers went through the road closed signs at Line 34. In a video posted to social media Thursday night, Sgt. Ed Sanchuk confirmed there had been second incident at a different barricade. He also said no one was hurt. “Drivers need to slow down and pay attention, so these unnecessary preventable collisions are avoided,” Sanchuk warned. “Driving’s a privilege, not a right. Each and every time you get behind that wheel, always make sure that you put your safety as a priority and always pay attention to your surroundings.” Police are asking anyone who witnessed either collision, has dash cam or security video, to contact investigators at 1-888-310-1122. This is the second time a driver has hit a CTV News Kitchener employee while they were working at a crash site. Reporter Stephanie Villella was hit on March 1, 2023 while she as at a closed road near Brock Road and Maltby Road. Editor’s note: The entire CTV News Kitchener team is keeping Dave and his family in our thoughts. With reporting from Janice Golding
