Double-fatal crash victim remembered as ‘always happy, upbeat, and friendly’

A teenager is being remembered as a “great teammate,” following a two-vehicle crash east of St. Thomas on Wednesday afternoon that took his life and that of a 62-year-old man.

In a post on Facebook, the London Minor Football Association says 17-year-old Sam Chabot, who attended Parkside Collegiate Institute in St. Thomas, was an “even better person” that was “always happy, upbeat, and friendly”.

In response, Chabot’s mother said “thank you,” and that her son loved his football, his family, and his mom.

“He was a bigger kid, so in football that’s perfect,” said Brock Burgess, director of operations for the London Minor Football Association. “He played on the line, offensive and defensive line, and you have to work hard, there’s a lot of technique with that. He worked hard to learn the techniques and get better and grow as a football player, and basically it was because he had a passion for it.”

Burgess said he’s met countless young people during his time as a football coach, but Chabot will always stand out in his mind as someone who had a great spirit.

“He was really happy and outgoing, he was a person who always had a smile on his face and could talk to anybody,” Burgess said. “He was really unpretentious and laid-back. It sounds like a cliché but he was a real country boy, he liked hunting and fishing, and he could talk to anyone about anything.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He was really happy and outgoing, he was a person who always had a smile on his face and could talk to anybody," Burgess said. "He was really unpretentious and laid-back. It sounds like a cliché but he was a real country boy, he liked hunting and fishing, and he could talk to anyone about anything."

A visitation for Chabot is planned at the H. A. Kebbel Funeral Home in Aylmer on Sunday, April 9 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.

A funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s United Church in Aylmer on Monday, April 10 at 11 a.m.

Central Elgin resident Branko Cindric was driving a GMC pick-up truck while Chabot was driving a brown Ford pick-up; both vehicles crashed into each other at around 3 p.m. on Talbot Line between Quaker Road and Belmont Road, just east of St. Thomas Municipal Airport.

Elgin OPP say both men were the sole occupants in their vehicles.

In a photo posted to Twitter by West Region OPP, both vehicles could be seen resting on their right sides, one in the ditch on the north side of the roadway.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Talbot Line was closed Wednesday between Quaker Road and Belmont Road until approximately 9 p.m.

– With files from Matthew Trevithick