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Tow truck driver fatally struck by vehicle while getting car out of ditch in Scugog: police

Click to play video: 'Tow truck driver killed while hoisting car out of ditch'
Tow truck driver killed while hoisting car out of ditch
OPP say a 56-year-old Oshawa man is dead after a car struck him while on the side of the road. The accident happened while he was trying to tow a car out of the ditch along Highway 12 near Port Perry. – Nov 7, 2019

Police say a tow truck driver was struck and killed by a vehicle Thursday morning while working to raise a car out of a ditch in Scugog.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said the collision happened on Highway 12 between Scugog lines two and three around 8 a.m.

Schmidt said there were two tow trucks on the side of the road in the area, with both of the tow truck drivers assisting vehicles that were stuck in a ditch.

While working to get one of the vehicles out of the ditch, a tow truck driver was struck by another vehicle that lost control, Schmidt said.

The tow truck driver was pronounced dead on scene.

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On Friday, Schmidt identified the victim as Beverly Todd Burgess, a 56-year-old Oshawa resident.

Schmidt said speed is believed to have been a factor in the crash.

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“The roads themselves were snow-covered, slushy, and icy at the time,” he added.

Click to play video: 'Brampton teen dead after crash, another teen facing charges'
Brampton teen dead after crash, another teen facing charges

Police are reminding drivers to slow down when they approach vehicles with emergency lights flashing.

“Anytime you see those flashing lights, those amber lights off a tow truck … you are required by law to slow down as you approach,” Schmidt said.

“Move into an adjacent lane if there’s one available, but if there’s none available, first and foremost you need to slow down.”

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