A man’s fall from the Ambassador Bridge, a fatal collision, and charges for Windsor Salt workers: Top Windsor stories this week

A structural iron worker is lucky to be alive after falling almost 150 feet into the Detroit River, a Leamington resident is the victim of a fatal crash on the 401, and a dozen Windsor Salt workers are facing charges.

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

Windsor driver stopped going almost double speed limit

Police say the Traffic Enforcement Unit stopped the vehicle traveling 110 km/hr in a posted 60 km/hr zone on Friday, July 7, 2023. (Source: WPS)

Windsor police have charged a driver for going almost double the speed limit on a city street.

Police say the Traffic Enforcement Unit stopped the vehicle travelling 110 km/hr in a posted 60 km/hr zone on Friday.

As a result, the driver has been charged with stunt driving.

In Ontario, if you are driving 40 km or more over the posted speed limit in a zone with a speed limit of less than 80 km, you can be charged with stunt driving under the Highway Traffic Act.

 

Fatal crash closes Highway 401 in Chatham-Kent

The Highway 401 was closed between Kent Bridge Road and Communication Road after a crash in Chatham-Kent, Ont. on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

OPP say a 41-year-old Leamington resident has died after a crash between a vehicle and a transport truck on Highway 401.

Both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the Highway 401 were closed between Kent Bridge Road and Communication Road.

Elgin County OPP (Chatham Detachment) officers are investigating the fatal collision that took place on westbound Highway 401 in Chatham-Kent on Tuesday at 1:08 a.m.
 

 

Worker falls off of Ambassador Bridge

Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

Harbour Master Peter Barry has confirmed to CTV News that a man who was doing work on the Ambassador Bridge fell off of it and into the Detroit River on Wednesday.

According to Chief James C. Harris, chief of community relations for the Detroit Fire Department, the call came in at approximately 4 p.m. on Wednesday about a person being in the river.

Harris said a group of American fisherman on the water reportedly saw the man fall off the bridge and stay afloat, and coast down the river. The fisherman then “immediately went into action and rescued him.”

 

'My whole life flashed before my eyes': Young father recounts fall from Ambassador Bridge

Spencer Baker is recovering at home with his 4-month-old daughter and fiancée after surviving a fall from the Ambassador Bridge. (Source: Spencer Baker)

What started as a normal workday for Spencer Baker took a perilous turn Wednesday afternoon, when the 27-year-old father fell from the Ambassador Bridge into the Detroit River below.

“I was just thinking this is it, man, my life is over,” he recounts of his nearly 150-foot fall.

“I’m never going to see my daughter again. My fiancée. My whole life flashed before my eyes.”

Baker is a structural ironworker.

He’s part of a team replacing the suspension cables that hold up the bridge.

 

 12 Windsor Salt workers facing charges

Windsor Salt strike picket signs in Windsor, Ont., on March 28, 2023. (CTV News Windsor)

There are 12 Windsor Salt workers charged with breaching a court order.

The Unifor members have been on strike since Feb. 17.

Soon after the strike started, the company applied for and received a court injunction that restricted how long members could delay transport trucks from entering the gate of the Ojibway mine.

CTV News has confirmed 12 members were charged with breaching a court order on April 11, 2023.