Top 5 Windsor stories this week

The community of Tecumseh is in mourning following the death of an OPP officer, a 9-1-1 dispatcher found himself on the opposite side of a 9-1-1 call, Stellantis has not yet confirmed a new deal for Windsor’s EV battery plant, a Windsor police officer is facing an assault charge, and a family in Chatham is desperate to find their lost exotic pet.

Here’s a look at the top stories on ctvnewswindsor.ca this week.

 

OPP officer from Tecumseh mourned by hockey community

Det. Const. Steven Tourangeau was killed in a collision involving an unmarked cruiser and school bus on May 29, 2023. (OPP)Members of the Belle River hockey community say they are in ‘complete disbelief’ over the death of OPP officer with ties to the region.

Det. Const. Steven Tourangeau, who died near Woodstock, Ont., on Monday after being involved in an on-duty accident, was originally from Tecumseh.

“It's heartbreaking that we lose such such a good person,” childhood friend Evan Carrick told CTV News Tuesday. “He had honesty, integrity. He had loyalty.”

Tourangeau’s cruiser collided with an empty school bus on Oxford Road 22 and Highway 59 Monday morning.

 

Stellantis 'does not confirm' new Windsor EV battery plant deal

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution EV battery plant construction site in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Sijia Liu/CTV News Windsor)Stellantis does not confirm that a deal has been reached to secure the $5-billion NextStar EV battery plant in Windsor.

The company issued a statement on Thursday.

“Stellantis does not confirm what has been reported and to date has not received an official response from its previously sent letters,” said LouAnn Gosselin, head of communications for Stellantis.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also made a comment about Stellantis while in Essex County on Thursday.

“Let’s all make sure we go to church twice on Sunday to make sure we get the Stellantis deal done,” said Ford.

 

911 dispatcher on lunch break identifies missing person, performs CPR on overdose victim the next day

Mike Hutchinson is a Windsor police 911 communicator who found a missing person and helped save a life in Windsor, Ont. Pictured on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)Dispatchers are used to playing a pivotal role in saving people's lives over the phone.

But for one operator with the Windsor Police Service, he never expected to see two emergency situations play out right out in front of his eyes, putting him on the opposite side of a 911 call.

The first incident happened during a late-night shift on Sunday, May 28.

Michael Hutchinson, working in Windsor Police Headquarters as a dispatcher, took his lunch break around 3 a.m., before driving himself to the nearby Tim Hortons on Park Street East to grab a coffee.

That's when he recognized a man sitting next to his vehicle who "looked like he needed help." Something about that man looked familiar to Hutchinson.

 

Chatham family frantic to find their exotic pet

African serval cat named Simba. (Source: Stephanie Leipold)Sandy Webster has spent the most of this week driving around Chatham-Kent looking for her son’s 32-pound African Serval cat after it jumped through the screen door of her North Chatham home at 11 p.m. Sunday.

“I was in another part of the home when I heard a crash,” said Webster.

Her ordeal started when she discovered the damaged screen door and the two-year-old exotic pet missing.

 

Off-duty Windsor police officer charged with assault after Toronto incident

An off-duty Windsor police officer has been charged with assault following an altercation in Toronto.

Police say the incident took place on April 30, when the officer was off-duty and was charged by the Toronto Police Service following an investigation.