Northern Ontario man nearly killed in road rage incident hopes driver who was charged gets help he needs
James Turner of New Liskeard, Ont., says he hopes the man who nearly killed him in a road rage incident on Monday gets the help he needs. Turner, an ER nurse, says he pulled over to try to help the SUV driver because he thought he needed help, and that’s when things got worse.
37-year-old faces counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assaulting police officer
Jonathan Migneault · CBC News
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Dashcam captures road rage on northern Ontario highway
James Turner captured this dashcam footage of a road rage incident along Highway 11 near Temiskaming Shores on Monday, Dec. 30, where he was the victim as another vehicle rammed his car deliberately.
A northern Ontario man who was the victim of road rage and almost killed is reflecting on the scary incident.
James Turner of New Liskeard told CBC Sudbury he hopes the man who deliberately rammed an SUV into his car on Highway 11, near Temiskaming Shores on Monday, gets the help he needs.
“I really sincerely hope this person is able to be a functional member of society who helps their neighbours, and loves people, and is able to recover from this situation and is a beneficial member of society,” said Turner, who works as a medical/surgical and emergency room nurse.
Turner captured the entire incident on his car’s dashcam and was on a 911 call when it all was happening.
The 37-year-old man who rammed his SUV into Turner’s Honda Accord faces multiple charges, including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, two counts of assaulting a police officer and breach of recognizance.
On the afternoon of the incident, Turner said, the Toyota Rav 4 was ahead of him on Highway 11, near Temiskaming Shores, and started to swerve toward oncoming traffic.
“I used my headlights to say, hey, maybe stay on the road, get your eyes off your cellphone because I thought maybe they were texting and driving,” Turner said.
The person in the other vehicle then pulled over to the shoulder of the highway.
Turner thought the driver might need medical attention and pulled over as well to see if he could help.
What happened next was captured in Turner’s dashcam footage, which later went viral on social media.
“And from there, they tried reversing into me,” Turner said.
“That doesn’t go their way so they turn around and swerve, and try to push me into a bridge with a 200-foot drop to frozen water.”
At that point, Turner called 911, seeking assistance from police.
After his car was hit on the bridge, Turner managed to escape and drive toward the police station in town.
The SUV rammed into his car once more, near a local Tim Hortons, and then drove off.
Police had to eventually deploy a spike belt to stop the suspect’s vehicle.
“We do have the odd road rage incident that we do have to deal with occasionally, but I would say that this is an isolated incident and this individual obviously may have had other issues going on as well,” said OPP Provincial Const. Martin Thibault.
Turner said he posted the video to social media so he could have a record of the incident.
Police took his dashcam as evidence, and he wanted to be sure he preserved the footage for court proceedings.
But he said the response online has been overwhelming.
“Ninety to 95 per cent of people are just greatly confused by the aggressive actions there. They’re very happy that I’m OK, that I’m able to talk about this ordeal,” he said.
Turner said a small group of people have criticized him, believing he did “everything wrong” in the situation. But he was grateful for the support from the majority of people.
He said his car is a write-off due to the damage from the collisions, but his only injuries were sprains to his wrist and thumb.
He added that mentally, he’s been OK and is driving a rental car around town, although he’s turned off the automatic high beams.
“Now I’m more concerned about making sure that people are aware that mental health is important,” Turner said.
Road rage cases steady in Sudbury
In Sudbury, the number of road rage incidents reported to police has remained steady in recent years.
In 2022, Sudbury police received 120 calls, about the same number from the two previous years.
Greater Sudbury Police Service spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn said in an email to CBC News that drivers can take several precautions to avoid becoming road rage victims.
Those include avoiding last-minute lane changes, letting faster motorists pass and avoiding honking your horn when possible.
If road rage leads to a collision, Dunn said, it’s important for the victim to remain calm so they don’t escalate the situation.
“If a driver was so angry that he or she caused an accident, remain in your vehicle until law enforcement arrives,” she wrote.
“You do not want the situation to become further escalated by being a victim of assault. If you have to exit your vehicle because of leaking gas or other dangers, stay far away from the other driver and try to stay in a public space.”
Dunn added it’s important to take note of the other driver’s physical description if possible, because aggressive drivers may fail to stop at the scene of a crash.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jonathan Migneault is a CBC digital reporter/editor based in Sudbury. He is always looking for good stories about northeastern Ontario. Send story ideas to jonathan.migneault@cbc.ca.
