Driver faults U-Haul in death
He believes driveshaft fell off rented truck Passenger thrown from vehicle with broken seatbelt
The Ontario coroner’s office is investigating the mechanical fitness of a U-Haul truck after the death of a passenger who was thrown from the vehicle as it flipped over. Gordon Annis, 43, of Peterborough, died last Wednesday while helping his cousin, James Milne, move from Campbellford, northwest of Belleville.
Annis had not been wearing a seatbelt, but Milne, who was driving the vehicle, and a source close to the investigation told the Star that Annis’s seatbelt didn’t work. “The police are conducting their investigation with the coroner’s office,” said OPP Sgt. Brian Blimkie. The coroner will examine the truck tomorrow to determine whether any safety malfunctions contributed to Annis’s Nov. 30 death.
Milne, reached last night, told the Star Annis’s seatbelt didn’t work. He said the truck’s driveshaft dropped off the vehicle, causing the accident.
“ The seatbelt on the passenger side did not operate,” said Milne, 40.
“ When I picked the truck up first, in Havelock, I went from Havelock to Campbellford. I picked my wife up and little boy, the seatbelt didn’t work then. I tried it. I took them into Peterborough, went back to Campbellford, loaded up my truck and that’s when it happened.”
Milne said he couldn’t return the U-Haul for another vehicle.
“It was the only truck they had,” Milne said. “ I just wanted to get my stuff moved out there and get out of there. It never crossed my mind to take the truck back because I was going to try to get the seatbelt to work. It didn’t.”
Milne said as he was driving, he heard a loud bang. He believes the driveshaft dropped off the truck.
“ It was a bang, like a shotgun bang,” said Milne. “ It caused us to veer and I lost it.” A U-Haul spokesperson told The Peterborough Examiner
after the accident that the company was awaiting the results of the police investigation and a mechanical inspection of the truck, due to be done this week. Joanne Fried, based at UHaul’s headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., said U-Haul has had safety issues in the past, but she said they were being dealt with.
“ Over the past year we’ve had more training, more resources available to our locations,” Fried told The Examiner. “ We’ve rotated older pieces of equipment out of our rental fleet because we’re purchasing new equipment.”
It’s the first fatality involving a U-Haul in the area since a July Toronto Star
investigation revealed half of U-Haul trucks routinely failed OPP roadside spot checks.
In response to that investigation, the Ontario transportation ministry conducted its own investigation of all truck rental companies, determining that UHaul had the poorest safety record. That prompted high- level meetings among MTO, OPP and U-Haul executives.
In October, U-Haul promised that it would clean up its act, and begin removing older vehicles from service and more thoroughly checking vehicles before they’re rented. Milne was on Northumberland Rd. 30 when the accident occurred.
There were three other passengers in the vehicle, including two in the rear with the furniture. None of the others were seriously hurt, said Judy Annis, Gordon’s mother.