Source

Seven people were injured and about 100 homes had to be evacuated after a house explosion in a southwestern Ontario city caused a massive fire late Wednesday night.

The blast in London, Ont., was caused by a vehicle slamming into a home and hitting a gas line just before 11 p.m., police said. The ensuing fire then spread to several residences overnight, with crews still on scene Thursday morning, authorities said.

Acting Deputy Fire Chief Jack Burt said the blast had completely destroyed the home that was hit by the vehicle, noting that the residence was empty at the time.

“There’s a hole in the ground,” he said. “This was a significant explosion.”

Four firefighters, two police officers and one civilian were taken to hospital, authorities said. One firefighter was in serious condition while the others had minor injuries and were released, they said.

Police said a 23-year-old woman, Daniella Alexandra Leis, was charged with impaired driving offences in connection with the incident.

 

This has gotta be one of the worst crashes by a drunk I have ever seen. Luckily nobody was killed. I wonder if her insurance broker might want to declare bankruptcy. This has to be expensive.

 

Nobody was hurt? The article says 7 people were injured

 

Meant killed. My mistake.

 

It was "Impaired" driving. I don't know how Canada (or Ontario) classifies their traffic laws, but the term "impaired" is usually meant to include any one of several things from alcohol to marijuana to hard drugs to too much legal medications to any or every combination of the above.

Yep.....ruptured gas lines are no joke. That could have killed a whole household of people. As it is, poor family, they are going to be without a home for at least quite some time, until it can be rebuilt. My prayers go up for them.....though they have much to be thankful for that they were not killed.



Yes, that was my first thoughts, too......this lady had better have a lot of insurance. And, once all of this is paid off (and she serves her time in prison, if applicable), she might not ever be able to get auto insurance again...especially at a reasonable price.

 

I was in London Ontario in 2016 for a conference at the UWO. Rented a Camry and toured the city at nights. One thing I noticed was the incredible amounts of impaired drivers and pedestrians roaming the streets. One night it was bat**** cold and I saw a man at a bus shelter looking for a ride, I let him into the Camry and asked him where he wanted to go and he said he wanted to go to the liquor store down the street. His breath smelled of alcohol. That was the last time I picked up a hitchhiker lol.

 

Drunk is an incorrect term and is basically an assumption based on local media reporting and some official police information provided to the public. The facts are that an individual who was operating a motor vehicle is being charged with impaired driving offences related to this incident.

She was allegedly impaired in the sense that police on the scene gathered enough evidence to charge her. She will have her day in court as will the police and the prosecutor. Let's not hang her in the gallows before the trial shall we?

 

I am not sure. But I think the insurance does not cover her in the sense that she is off the hook. I think the insurance companies go after her for damages. All because of the impaired charge. Maybe someone with more knowledge of insurance might want to chime in.

 

amazed driver lived.
what car was she driving?

 

What did she lie about?

The pictures I found suggest it was an older Ford Fusion.







Source

 

Here's the best close-up I could get....looks to me like a 1Gen Ford Fusion or Mercury Milan.

 

that is clearly a Fusion from the rear badge and the wheel badges, not a Mercury Milan

 

I noticed the wheel badges, too, but they were so small I couldn't clearly identify it as Ford...and I could only magnify the picture so much. But, anyhow, between you and me, I hope we answered bitkahuna's question.

And, a shame, too, with another one of them damaged and (maybe) totalled). Those 1Gen Fusions/Milans were good cars....they had a better record of reliability than many other Ford products.

 

Huh?

Insurance brokers don't pay claims; they are just sales agencies making commissions. The insurance companies pay; and they have billions of dollars in reserves to pay for claims in an industry that is highly regulated and monitored as to financial health.

Massive hurricanes in TX, FL and PR didn't bankrupt any insurance companies last year; this is a drop in the bucket for the insurance companies involved.

 

Not only that, but some of what they would (otherwise) be paying, after major disasters, is covered by FEMA.