LISTOWEL – The irony that a huge positive came out of the latest provincial pandemic lockdown following a frightening incident last Friday morning in downtown Listowel is not lost on Diana Sweets owner Tami Cressey.
“It’s the first and only time I’ll probably ever be grateful for a lockdown,” she said, referring to the fact that her restaurant was closed and no one was injured after a tractor-trailer slammed into the front of three Listowel businesses on Jan. 21.
“It could have been very, very different.”
Local emergency crews scrambled to the chaotic scene on Main Street West around 8 a.m., where a tractor-trailer had veered off the road and onto the sidewalk before becoming lodged into the buildings housing Diana Sweets, the Clothing Loft and Corley Sports Excellence. One person, later identified as the driver of the commercial vehicle, was taken to local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Main Street West between Wallace Avenue and Livingstone Avenue remained closed for several hours while crews worked to ensure that the structural integrity of the building was sound and that the tractor-trailer could be safely removed.
Prior to the latest provincial lockdown that forced Ontario restaurants to not permit indoor dining, Cressey would have typically opened her doors at 8 a.m. The lockdown had relegated Diana Sweets to curbside takeout beginning at 10 a.m., so no customers were present at the time of the incident.
“Inside it’s not bad, we just have some cleaners in here now,” Cressey said Monday morning. “There’s a lot of glass, dust and debris in here. But as far as damage, there’s no damage on the inside, it’s all on the outside.”
Cressey doesn’t have a damage estimate as of press time, but Diana Sweets and the Clothing Loft’s main entrances remain boarded up and fenced off while repairs take place.
“So far, it’s been best-case scenario,” said Cressey. “They were really prepared for everything when they pulled the truck out for (the building) to crumble, but that didn’t happen.
“I try to concentrate on the positives. Because of the lockdown, we’re actually not losing a lot of income right now being closed. The timing could have definitely been worse. It still feels a bit like you’re already down and somebody is kicking you in the stomach. We want people to think about our staff – these girls… they’ve lost a lot these last two years, and now they’re losing even more income. They’ve stuck through so much with us.”
The Listowel Banner reached out to Clothing Loft representatives for comment, but did not receive a response prior to press time.
Corley Sports Excellence, located one door down to the east of Diana Sweets, escaped with mostly minor damage.
“We got pretty lucky. It more affected our apartments’ entrance,” commented Corley Sports Manager Brendan Hall, referring to three upstairs tenants. “The actual storefront just had cosmetic damage.”
Hall arrived on the scene about 45 minutes after the incident occurred. The business was able to reopen the next day.
“It was definitely an eye-opener,” he said. “The biggest thing was I’m just very glad everybody was safe, there was nobody on the street, no cars there.”
While damage estimates remain unknown at this time, Diana Sweets Restaurant and the Clothing Loft’s main entrances remain boarded up and fenced off while repairs take place after a tractor-trailer crashed into their storefronts on the morning of Jan. 21. (Dan McNee photo)
The Perth County OPP have yet to release the cause of the crash and whether or not any charges are pending. Other media sources have received comments that the driver of the tractor-trailer may have been experiencing a medical emergency prior to and during the incident, but those reports are yet to be confirmed by officials.
Cressey said she received a couple calls from local residents she knows saying that they had been following the tractor-trailer that morning since Listowel’s west-end roundabout, and that it was driving in an “erratic” fashion.
“I think people were noticing the truck,” she said.
The tractor-trailer was ultimately removed from the scene later in the afternoon after building structural integrity was deemed sound by engineers.
“They really thought (at first) that the truck was almost holding the building up. We were prepared for it to come down,” said Cressey. “It could have been a lot worse. Nobody was hurt, and that’s what is important.”
Cressey expects that pending repairs, Diana Sweets could be open in time for the return to provincial indoor restaurant dining, slated for Feb. 1.
“We’re not rushing safety. Once it’s safe for people to enter, we will be open,” she said. “Inside, we’re fine. The kitchen was untouched.”
Truck bypass debate intensifies
After the news of the crash was broken online, comments began to once again circulate about the need for a truck bypass around Listowel, an issue that has been discussed locally for well over a half-century.
2022 budget deliberations had already included the topic, and the potential for its construction in the near future. North Perth Mayor Todd Kasenberg spoke to the subject in a Facebook post on Friday.
“I am of course concerned about the accident in the downtown of Listowel today, in which a transport truck collided with storefronts and public infrastructure,” wrote Kasenberg. “It is distressing and unfortunate that this has occurred, and I am grateful and relieved to know that there were no serious injuries reported.
“For some, this incident underscores an issue that I have spoken about from before my election as mayor – that this community needs a way to get non-destination trucks out of Listowel’s downtown. This is, according to a good local historian, a 70-year issue. Earlier councils have worked sporadically on this issue without significant impact. It is certainly challenging. This council is serious about making progress on this issue. I have encouraged progress early in my term, and we are seeing some, as our Transportation Master Plan comes forward. This plan – first and tentatively presented in the fall of 2021 – remains a work in progress, but council looks forward to seeing this important plan fully delivered, and has noted need to fund beginnings in 2022 budget deliberations.
“We should avoid too much speculation about whether a truck bypass would have averted this particular accident. Some truck traffic does enter Listowel’s downtown to deliver locally.
“Let me reassure – a truck bypass in Listowel is a high priority of this council. It will, of necessity, be a high priority for future councils until it gets done.”
