Shirley Madsen has been advocating for changes to make Lakeshore Road, between Four Mile Creek Road and the Old Town, safer for drivers — she has witnessed too many collisions involving serious injuries and fatalities along the stretch near her home, which borders Lakeshore Cemetery.
On Saturday night, it was Shirley and her husband Finn whose property became the victim of a collision — this time, a car heading from Chautauqua toward St. Catharines spun out, became airborne, and landed on their front lawn beside their home, doing extensive damage along the way.
A Niagara Regional Police report confirmed that at 11:42 p.m. Saturday, a man driving a 2000 Audi sedan westbound along Lakeshore Road lost control of his vehicle, skidded across the oncoming lane, entered the south ditch, went airborne and finally came to rest within the front yard of a home.
The Audi, the police report says, “caused significant damage to the property, including trees, grass, and a fire hydrant.”
The report doesn’t adequately describe the scene of devastation, including the damage to a beautiful wrought iron fence along the front of the Madsen’s property, or the flag pole that has flown the Ukrainian flag since that country came under attack from Russia. Shirley, of Ukrainian heritage, has become well-known in Niagara-on-the-Lake and across the region for her efforts to send aid to Ukraine, and to help those newly settled in Niagara.
The report also does not mention the gardens along the front of the Madsen home, also destroyed.
Madsen says when she was getting ready for bed and heard the loud crash outside, she went out to investigate, and was astounded by what she saw — headlights pointing at her house, a badly damaged car on their front lawn, and the devastation to their property.
“It looked like a bomb went off. There were car parts everywhere, all over our front lawn and on the road.”
She was even more astounded when the driver of the car stumbled toward her, she says, and said he wasn’t hurt.
When she asked him what had happened, he said he didn’t know, and told the police the same.
The Audi was heavily damaged, believed to be written off, the police report said. And the driver, the only occupant, “was arrested at the scene when the responding officers found grounds to believe he was impaired by alcohol.”
Mitchell Wiebe, 35 years old, of Pelham was arrested and charged with impaired driving with a blood alcohol level in excess of 80 mgs per 100 ml. He was later released on notice to appear in court at a future date.
And the Madsens are left dealing with contractors, insurance adjustors and the insurance company.
Shirley, who began her advocacy for safety improvements to Lakeshore Road after Jennifer Jackson, a 49-year-old mother of two, was killed when she crashed into a tree across the street from the Madsens last June, says she will continue her letter-writing, hoping someone will take up her cause.
