Top stories of the week: quick-thinking moms, fatal Cambridge collision, and explosion in Breslau

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Investigation underway after pedestrian hit in Cambridge

Police to install dozens of CCTVs in Waterloo

Explosion caught on camera near Breslau, Ont.

Runaway horse and buggy stopped safely in Elmira thanks to pair of quick-thinking mothers

Waterloo Regional Police have shared details of an unusual emergency call in Elmira, Ont.

They said two mothers, out on a coffee run, reported a runaway horse and buggy.

The incident happened at 10 a.m. on Nov. 28. Police said the women, only identified as Marianne and Julie, called 911 after spotting the horse moving at a steady pace. What alarmed them was that there was no driver in the buggy.

According to a transcript of the call released by police, Marianne and Julie followed the buggy at a safe distance while speaking with the dispatcher.

“There is a horse and buggy traveling. There’s no one in the buggy,” one of the women said. “We’re following it… we are just on an adventure trying to be helpful.”

The women also described the horse moving steadily along, joking that the animal seemed determined.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s really hungry and wants its treats at home.”

At one point, one of the women noted the situation was “not on my bingo card” for the morning.

Police said it is unknown how the horse became separated from its driver, only that there was no property damage, and officers were able to locate the owner once they arrived on scene.

“They followed until they observed others stop the horse and tie the horse to a pole,” Cherri Greeno, a police spokesperson told CTV News in an email.

“The men that stopped were comfortable with horses. The owner has been identified and officers gave the owner a ride to the location where the horse was finally stopped. The owner was in an appointment when the horse got loose.”

The horse was safely secured, covered with a blanket and returned home.

“Oh, the horse is stopped,” the caller could be heard telling the dispatcher. “Somebody is leaving their truck and going to grab the horse… he got the horse blanket out. He kind of wiped it down a bit.”

“Sounds like you guys got it all under control right now,” the dispatcher responded, laughing.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service thanked the two women for calling 911 and guiding responders to the buggy, writing on social media: “Two moms, one runaway buggy and a horse determined to hoof it away. Pretty sure this wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card!”

Girl, 3, struck and killed in Cambridge, Ont. crash

A three-year-old girl has died after she was hit by the driver of a vehicle in Cambridge, Ont., according to police.

A 31-year-old woman also had serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service said the pair were walking in the Cedar Street area near the Westgate Centre plaza just before 1 p.m. on Dec. 11.

The child had life-threatening injuries and died shortly after she arrived at the hospital.

Officers could be seen examining a stroller at the scene of the crash.

“I did happen to see a stroller just by itself on the sidewalk and that’s when I knew something bad happened and a baby was involved,” one witness said. “It’s terrible. Right before Christmas too. I can’t believe that.”

Flowers and a stuffed toy were left at the side of Cedar Street in the hours following the fatal crash.

Police said the driver, a 75-year-old man from Cambridge, was not hurt.

No further details have been shared about the circumstances surrounding the crash or any possible charges.

Police did issue a safety message. They urged drivers to reduce their speed in residential areas and near intersections, avoid distractions, and keep an eye out for pedestrians at all times, especially near crosswalks and school zones.

Pedestrians, meantime, were reminded to use designated crosswalks when possible and wait for vehicles to stop before crossing the street.

What caused an explosion in Breslau, Ont.?

An explosion on Dec. 11 in Breslau, Ont. is being blamed on the weather.

Video from a home security system showed a bright ball of light, followed by thick white smoke rising into the air, not far from a residential area and the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

CTV News reached out to the Woolwich Fire Department for an explanation.

“The incident in Breslau... was the result of a pressure relief valve freezing due to our current weather, causing a small buildup of pressure in an empty tank,” Chief Dennis Aldous explained in a email.

Both Aldous and Sandy Shantz, the mayor for the Township of Woolwich, confirmed it happened at Safety-Kleen Canada, a waste management and used oil refinery at 300 Woolwich Street South.

Shantz said there was no danger to the public.

The Region of Waterloo’s Emergency Management Office said they were not aware of an explosion. They told CTV News they would not have been alerted if the township dealt with the problem on its own and did not escalate the matter to the region for additional support which, they noted, would have been the normal procedure during an emergency situation.

CTV News also contacted the Ministry of Environment about the explosion.

Southern Ontario bracing for back-to-back storms, snow events declared

Southern Ontario got not one – but two – big blasts of winter this past week.

The first storm swept through on Dec. 9, while the second started overnight.

Environment Canada issued a yellow snowfall warning, saying an Alberta clipper would bring approximately 10 to 20 cm of the white stuff.

All areas between Pickering and Montreal were included in the advisory.

Meantime, a change in weather conditions prompted a second yellow warning for communities between Sarnia and the GTA.

Drivers were urged to take it slow on the roads. At the time, the agency said blowing snow could reduce visibility, while icy patches may be difficult to see. Pedestrians were also advised to take precautions.

Environment Canada said lake effect snow squalls were possible southeast of Lake Huron from Dec. 10 to Dec. 11, with some areas getting even more snow accumulation.

First set of police CCTV cameras going up in Waterloo next month

A new tool meant to help solve crimes, such as gun and gang violence, in Waterloo Region will soon be in place.

The first set of police Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are expected go up in the City of Waterloo by the third week of January.

“We have our first [Memorandum of Understanding] signed with the City of Waterloo. We are also working with the Region of Waterloo as the poles are also ownership of the Region of Waterloo,” said Deputy Chief Jen Davis with the Waterloo Regional Police Service.

There will eventually be 52 cameras installed across the region’s seven municipalities.

As for exact locations, that will be made public on the police service’s website once they’re up.

The service will be responsible for owning, installing, operating and maintaining the cameras. They secured $100,000 in funding from the Ministry of the Solicitor General, which was matched in the WRPS budget, for a total of $200,000 to help roll out the multi-phase program.

“The first [phase] is looking at new infrastructure, new camera locations. Then the second one will be working with the various municipalities on the ability for us to access existing infrastructure,” said Davis.

That could include Grand River Transit, schools and private businesses.

Signs will be posted in areas with CCTV cameras, as was done during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the university district.

Police held public information sessions on the cameras in mid-November, but not everyone is sold on the idea, including privacy and surveillance expert Claudiu Popa.

“That kind of pattern of life tracking doesn’t sit well with people – identifying their whereabouts,” said Popa, who is also the co-founder of KnowledgeFlow Cybersafety Foundation. “We’ve seen these types of CCTV surveillance systems in the States being installed in major cities where there’s been pushback and they’ve been removed as a result.”

Police said the cameras will not be monitored live and would be accessed for the purpose of an investigation. Any footage not used in an investigation would be deleted after 30 days.

“There’s really little difference between being recorded and being watched in real time,” said Popa. “There are backups and archival systems that ensure the data can be retrieved after the fact.”

Facial recognition capabilities will be turned off, but cameras will include automated licence plate readers.

“Here in Canada, we’ve got [licence plates] on the front and rear. It’s a lot easier to very precisely place an individual at a specific location all the way back to the beginning of the program,” Popa said.

He added transparency is the key to get the community on board.

“I can’t overstate enough how important it is for people to be considered on the same team as law enforcement because that’s the way for the public to understand that no one is looking to infringe upon their personal, human rights, of which privacy is one,” said Popa.

Given police have engaged with the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s office, they maintain transparency is their goal and believe they are on the right track.