Driver missing after vehicle speeding down St. Mary’s Road crashes into St. Boniface business
Posted October 16, 2024 3:29 pm.
Last Updated October 17, 2024 10:17 am.
The driver of a vehicle that went speeding toward a notorious curve in St. Boniface before crashing into a storefront on Tuesday morning is missing.
The speeding vehicle crashed through the guardrail on St. Mary’s Road and into an appliance store – Midland Appliance World – just before 2 a.m.
Residents and business owners are left wondering what happened to the driver, who is said to have fled the scene.
EyeSee Computers and Security Cameras, located right beside the now boarded-up appliance store, caught the crash on camera.
“It was roaring, and I saw a flash going by the window and heard a massive crash,” said owner Don Cairns.
“That’s the fastest, I’ve never seen that, even in the movies, like a car going that fast and then smashing into something.”
WATCH: St. Boniface vehicle crash (submitted by: Don Cairns)
Cairns then witnessed the aftermath of the crash in person.
“There were parts for hundreds and hundreds of feet, everywhere,” he said. “It was disintegrated.”
Cairns doesn’t think anyone in the car could have survived.
“Maybe about three o’clock by then in the morning, a fireman walked by and I asked, ‘Is the guy OK?’ Like, not expecting him to be. He said, ‘No, he was not there.’”
This street curve is no stranger to reckless driving accidents. Nearly two years ago to the day, a 17-year-old boy was killed just down the street near Guay Avenue, when the car he was in hit a utility pole.
But business owners like Cairns, and the team at Midland Appliance World, don’t think reducing speeds will make a difference to those who are speeding anyway. Cairns says more signage approaching the street curve will help.
“When I see hazard signs, I think, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, I better slow down. OK, yep, something’s up there.’ So maybe a little more heads up with signs,” he said.
“(Vehicles) are dangerous things. But it seems to be the odd person will travel far too fast. People I think are speeding all the time. If you look out the window, it seems like they’re going a little faster than normal.”
The Winnipeg Police Service is continuing its investigation, saying more information will be coming soon.
