HYDRO WORKER ‘HIT IN DITCH, NOT DRIVING UTV ON ROAD,’ WHEN HE DIED, SAY HIS GRIEVING PARENTS
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
BRACEBRIDGE — A hydro worker who died on the job last month was hit “in a ditch” while pushing a broken-down UTV — but he was not driving it on the road — say his grieving parents.
Nathan Reynolds, 27, died June 15 on Hwy. 11 when he was struck by a pickup truck, say the OPP.
The accident happened at 1:30 p.m., near the community of Driftwood, between Smooth Rock Falls and Cochrane.
Sandra and Scott Reynolds say they don’t have the “intricate details” yet, but say it is what police and Ontario Hydro officials tell them happened.
“Everything’s consistent with what we told you,” she in an interview with MuskokaTODAY.com, adding they’ve also talked to witnesses who confirm what happened.
“It’s a tragedy,” says the father, adding that life for the parents now is “day by day.”
They want to set the record straight from what they’ve been hearing in the town where their son was “born and bred” and went to school, said his mom, who also lives in Bracebridge with her husband.
“He was in a ditch pushing a broken UTV, she said, when a pickup truck left the road and struck him “in the ditch.”
She said “that’s what we first heard,” then after the accident “we’ve had talks since with the OPP covering the case and Hydro One.
“He wasn’t on it. He was pushing a broken UTV, which just adds more confusion to it.”
Reynolds, a third generation lineman, was “working well off the road,” says his dad.
“It just sounds like from what we’ve heard and read in other articles like he’s driving the UTV and got struck — that’s a total different scenario,” said his mother.
“He was crushed in between when he was struck. But he wasn’t driving”
“It was work zone they were in,” said the father.
“Signs were up for safety,” added the mom.
“Everything was correct. It was a proper work zone on the side of the highway,” the father continued.
He said workers were using an Ontario Hydro UTV to install hydro lines.
“It was not used on the roadway. It was used down in the ditch line to do the work they needed. And then it just broke down. Him and two other lads were just trying to get it (out).
“My understanding is that they were three metres from pushing it into a driveway. And they would have been completely clear of the roadway. But in what they were doing, they were well off the road.
“They were more than five feet away from the edge of the pavement … when the driver “plowed into the back of them” and “hit our son.”
The parents don’t know, but say they believe the accident was a case of “distracted” driving.
“And our son lost his life due to it,” said his dad.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault in hydro. They were doing all the correct things.”
Nathan Reynolds came from a line of lineman, including his dad and his grandfather, Ed Reynolds.
“We all enjoyed a good career, except my son who was cut short. He liked the trade and was proud to be part of it.
“It’s just a huge hole in our hearts,” says the distraught dad. “It’s going take a long time to deal with it.”
The family don’t have the “intricate details” of what happened, he said.
“As far as the accident details, I think we just wanted to just make clear that that’s not what he was doing.
“I’m not concerned with all the nitty-gritty details right now and exactly what happened, because I know we’ll get more clarity down the road.”
We called and emailed police in Cochrane this long weekend, but they offered no new information, saying they continue to investigate.
“The North East Region OPP Traffic Incident Management and Enforcement Team, and the OPP Technical Collision Investigators are continuing the investigation,” police said last week. “OPP will provide further details when they become available.”
The Reynolds say Hydro One is also investigating it as a workplace accident.
“These things always take time. It just is what it is.
“It’s not going to bring our boy back, regardless,” says the father says.
“It’s a tragedy and everybody’s got to come to terms. The boys up on that crew are very, very upset, themselves, right now.”
Reynolds lived in Bracebridge with his wife of three years, Lindsay, but his postal code was in Gravenhurst.
The family held a celebration of life for Reynolds last week, in which his body was driven to the Bracebridge Fairgrounds between a row of Ontario Hydro trucks — their orange buckets stretched over the entrance road
“All I can say is he was the best kid in the world,” said his father.
“He had a heart of gold and just loved the outdoors. We just want to celebrate the good things of our son.”
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