Man dies from injuries in crash that killed wife

Memorial service Wednesday for retired Peterborough couple David and Elizabeth Bate following July 9 crash on Hwy. 35

A July 5 collision on Hwy. 35 near Coboconk has now claimed the lives of two Peterborough residents.

Elizabeth Bate, 80, was killed July 9 when the vehicle she was a passenger in was involved in a three-vehicle collision just south of Glenarm Rd.

Her husband, David Bate, 87, was seriously injured in the collision. He died Sunday night in a Toronto hospital.

City of Kawartha Lakes OPP said their southbound vehicle was stopped at a road construction site at 8:25 p.m. when they were rear-ended by a cargo van.

His son, Don Bate, attributed his father’s death to internal injuries he received during the collision.

Police are still investigating the collision. No charges have been laid.

Bate said his father seemed to be recovering from his injuries. Earlier in the week the two had talked about his mother’s obitu- ary, he said, and his father was quite particular about the details.

He’s struggling to come to terms with what happened and is frustrated by a lack of information.

Bate said he’s only been told that their vehicle was rear-ended by a driver who didn’t appear to hit the brakes before the collision.

Their dog, a springer spaniel named J.J., was also in the vehicle and escaped the collision unharmed. Bate said firefighters found her underneath his mother’s seat when they cut away the vehicle to get Mrs. Bate out.

Bate said the family has been overwhelmed with the response from the community following the collision.

Both were active Peterborough residents, moving to the area about 20 years ago after his father retired from Atomic Energy of Canada. Elizabeth, known to her friends as “Libby,” worked for years as a physiotherapist at the Ontario Crippled Children’s Centre.

“Their retirement was not spent sitting back, watching television,” he said.

Both loved to play golf. Bate said the family loved history, and his parents made that a big part of their retirement through their involvement with Hutchison House Museum and Peterborough Historical Society.

His father, he said, was an exceptional man who was widely respected in his field of work.

Bate said the family had originally planned for a small service.

But as the news of their death spread, he said, and the family has been told to expect a large crowd for a memorial service at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church on Brock St. Wednesday. The service begins at 11:30 a.m.

NOTE: The family is asking that memorial donations be made to the Hutchison House museum.