For 27 years, Rick Davis has been the eyes and ears of the intersection of Plank Road and Ostrander Road in Southwest Oxford. “This is my first time witnessing, seeing somebody die on the spot,” said Davis. Davis was on his usual perch on his front porch Saturday afternoon when he saw a pickup truck towing an RV on Ostrander pull out in front of a motorcycle heading north on Plank. “I saw him on the motorcycle, and I could actually see his face, like horror,” recalled Davis, who was shaken up, but called 911. “Then then I watched both hands on the brakes and the bike just slid in slow motion. I saw it hit the back of the trailer, and he just came down like a rag doll. Within seconds bystanders were there doing CPR on them.” Witnesses say the 50-year-old motorcycle rider from Woodstock, Ont. died instantly. Police say he was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Oxford OPP add the investigation remains ongoing, with assistance from Collision Reconstructionists and Technical Collision Investigators from the OPP Traffic Incident Management Enforcement (TIME) team. “Unfortunately, a fatality took place, and we all knew as neighbours this was going to happen,” said Corinna Sandham, a neighbour who rushed to the scene to help. Those like Sandham, who live near the intersection, are not surprised that one of the many crashes at that intersection has now resulted in death. “The increase in traffic, the reckless driving, lack of stopping, passing. It’s ridiculous,” she said. Davis says sometimes on a busy day he watches cars trying to go east-west sit for more than 10 minutes at the corner, waiting for clearance. “This is a very dangerous intersection,” said Davis. “Nobody does 60 km/h going through here and a lot of them do Jackrabbit stops because you’ve got to get across there somehow.” This crash has neighbours asking for more police enforcement and changes to the intersection. “I feel a stoplight would be the easiest answer, but something needs to be done,” said Sandham. “Obviously putting those left-hand turning lanes haven’t worked. Numerous neighbours have almost met their life, even with those left-hand turning lanes having been put in, so that wasn’t the answer. So, some kind of enforcement, something that makes people stop, not just a stop sign because that doesn’t work.” Davis isn’t sure that a light is the answer either. “People run stoplights too,” he said. The intersection of Plank Line and Ostrander Road was closed for several hours Saturday while emergency crews and investigators were on scene but later reopened. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has dashcam or surveillance footage from the area at the time of the incident is asked to contact the Oxford OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
