Everything Changes

Dan Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 2, 2008)

Virginia State Police have determined a fatal crash that took the lives of three members of a Hamilton family was caused by their overweight trailer.

William Smith, 33, his wife Sandra, 35, and their daughter Kaylee, 7, were killed last Thursday night on I-77 in Virginia when their vehicle and trailer went out of control and struck an oncoming tractor-trailer in the northbound lanes.

Two other children, Madison, 9, and Genna, 3, were treated at the Wake Forest University Baptist Center in Winston Salem, N.C., and were expected to be released into the custody of their grandparents by yesterday.

"It's been determined the weight of the trailer did cause the crash," State Trooper O.J. Lilly said Monday, adding it was a "terrible and tragic" accident.

Smith, an HSR bus driver, and Sandra, who worked in the accounting department of Turkstra Lumber, were driving a 2005 Dodge Durango and it was pulling a 35-foot trailer built in 2004.

The family, who had left their east Mountain home Thursday morning, were on their way to Myrtle Beach, S.C., with two other Ontario families. The accident occurred about 5.6 kilometres from a campsite where the three families were planning to spend the night.

Lilly said the Smith's trailer weighed about 8,000 pounds (about 3,630 kilograms) empty.

"Once you start throwing in bikes, camping gear and portable water tanks and sewage tanks and propane tanks, that makes it heavier," he said.

Investigators determined the vehicle and trailer were travelling down a four to five per cent incline on the Wythe County highway that stretches for about 1.6 kilometres.

"There was the downhill incline and in combination with the weight ... he hit the brake and the trailer started swaying on him," Lilly said.

"Once it lost control, it went into the median strip and then into the northbound lanes."

The surviving girls' grandparents, John and Jane Poulton, live in Florida and travelled to Winston Salem after being contacted by police.

Lilly said the couples travelling with the Smiths were "mentally in shock" after the crash, but assisted police with the two injured girls.

They stayed with the girls at the local community hospital and then at the hospital in Winston Salem until the grandparents arrived.

Meanwhile, a trust fund has been set up by friends and family to help the Smith family pay for ongoing expenses such as medical bills, transportation, funeral costs and the long-term needs of Madison and Genna.

The Smith Family Trust Fund has been set up at Hamilton Community Credit Union, with branches at 698 King St. E. and Mohawk Road.

The account number is 3196800, Branch No. 828, Transit No. 21152.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

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