Central Frontenac Paving crew member struck by vehicle on Westport Road

Jeff Green | Jun 28, 2022

The Frontenac Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is investigating a motor vehicle collision that resulted in serious injuries to 63-year old Christopher Clayton, a resident of Addington Highlands.

On Friday, June 24, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Officers from the Frontenac Detachment of the OPP, Central Frontenac Fire and Rescue and Frontenac Paramedics Service responded to a two-vehicle collision on Westport Road in Central Frontenac Township.

OPP Technical Collision Investigators (TCI) attended to assist. Initial investigation determined that the driver of an eastbound vehicle collided with a road paving vehicle that was patching Westport Road. Clayton, a member of the construction crew, was then struck by the paving vehicle and seriously injured.

He was airlifted to the hospital by Air Ornge with life threatening injuries.

The other driver was not injured, nor were any other construction workers.

The Ministry of Labour (MOL) was notified of the incident and attended the scene as well. The cause of the collision is currently under investigation.

Clayton was working for a sub-contracting company, that was working on patching the section of Westport that runs through Central Frontenac. The same company is also working for South Frontenac Township, doing similar work on the South Frontenac section of the Westport Road.

Tysen Myers, the Public Works Manager for Central Frontenac Township, said the township and its staff was shaken by the incident.

“We held a stand down meeting with our township road crew this morning, just to go over our safety protocols and see what is working and what improvements we can make,” he said.

The name of the driver has not been released, and the OPP, but OPP officials said this week that charges are pending against that individual. There was no timeframe offered for the completion of the investigation.

As far as the OPP is aware, Christopher Clayton remains in hospital ■