A’burg woman, son victims of Highway 401 crash

Chatham-Kent OPP have released the names of the Amherstburg mother and her son who were killed by a transport truck in a sixvehicle pileup on Highway 401 on Sunday afternoon — an incident that has shocked the community into calling for answers.

“You can’t believe that such a tragedy could happen,” said Essex MPP Taras Natyshak on Tuesday. “We’re all feeling that pain.”

Natyshak said he has formally requested information on the incident from the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Provincial Police.

Lacie Brundritt, 42, and Kyle Brundritt, 14, were pronounced dead at the scene after a tractortrailer collided with their Chevy Sierra pickup truck in the westbound lanes of the 401 near Dillon Road.

Laice and Kyle were passengers. Also in the pickup truck were a 39-year-old male, who was in the driver’s seat, and another passenger — a 12-year-old male.

The pickup truck driver was airlifted to hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The 12-year-old male was taken to hospital via ambulance. The child’s injuries were described as non-life threatening.

Emergency responders were called to the chaotic scene just south of Chatham around 4:40 p.m. Police said the Chevy Sierra was one of five vehicles stopped on the roadway because of a separate collision.

The transport truck crashed into the rear of the pickup truck and the camper trailer it was towing — causing a chain reaction of collisions among the stopped vehicles.

Images of the wreckage on social media show the camper trailer was destroyed and the Chevy Sierra was crushed under the transport’s tractor. Debris was strewn across the highway.

Investigators are still determining what led to the incident.

Highway 401 between Bloomfield Road and Queens Line needed to be closed for 11 hours to allow traffic collision specialists to study the scene.

Chatham-Kent OPP continue to appeal to the public for information. Anyone who witnessed what happened, and in particular anyone with dash camera or other video recordings related to the collision, is urged to contact investigators at 1-888-310-1122.

Anonymous tips can be made via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477.

Lacie Brundritt was a former mail carrier and current employee of Canada Post. She was secretarytreasurer of the Amherstburg local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

Kyle Brundritt was a student at St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic High School.

The Brundritt family includes Lacie’s husband, Mike, and their youngest son Evan.

Natyshak said he does not know the Brundritts personally, but he has spoken with friends of the family, and the community is in shock over the tragic occurrence.

“My hope is that we get some answers as to how this could happen,” Natyshak said.

“The circumstances around it are not clear. The results of the investigation should shed light on what happened and answer some things that our community is asking right now.”

Natyshak said the incident raises questions for him on a number of issues, including: safety measures around highway construction zones; Highway 401 road conditions; penalties against distracted drivers; training and qualifications of tractor trailer drivers; and more.

“Are there safety control systems that need to be put into place in tractor trailers?” Natyshak wondered. “(They could be) similar to collision avoidance systems that are almost standard in new vehicles these days.”

“My vehicle alarms me if it senses there’s something coming up. My driver side seat will vibrate when traffic has stopped in front of me and I’m not slowing down at an appropriate pace.”

My hope is that we get some answers as to how this could happen.