Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Family sues drunk driver who killed teen D.J. Hancock in 2014:
The family of a Sudbury teen killed in a drunk driving crash in 2014 is suing the driver convicted of his death for $1.6 million, documents filed at the Sudbury courthouse show. D.J. Hancock was 18 when he was driving home from hockey tryouts on Aug. 21 that year when a vehicle driven by Walter R. Carter slammed into him head-on, killing him. Tragically, his parents, who were also at the tryouts and were driving behind him, came upon the crash shortly afterward. Carter, 41 at the time, was convicted in late 2014, and paroled in August 2017, less than three years after Hancock was killed. The suit seeks $600,000 in damages under the Family Law Act, which allows lawsuits for negligence causing death, and $500,000 for mental distress and nervous shock suffered by his parents, and another $500,000 for punitive or aggravated damages on behalf of the entire family. In addition, the family seeks “special damages” to be disclosed before trial, as well as all legal costs and “any further relief” the judge deems appropriate.
Group of six Greater Sudbury residents split $1 million lotto win:
Two Kyles and a Kyler, as well as three other gents, hit it big on the Feb. 2 Lotto 6/49 draw. The group won the guaranteed $1 million prize. The winners are: Gerald Simon of Sudbury, Darryl Taylor of Sudbury, Kevin Huot of Sudbury, Kyle Ross of Hanmer, Kyle Shank of Sudbury, Kyler Tessier of Sudbury Congratulations to all the winners. The winning ticket was purchased at Shell on Lasalle Boulevard in Sudbury.
Celebration of life for Branden Bodson-Gratton is this Saturday:
The celebration of life for a 25-year-old Sudbury man whose body was pulled from the icy waters of Junction Creek earlier this month takes place Saturday. Branden Bodson-Gratton, who lived with schizophrenia, had been reported missing by his family in December. Police, family members and complete strangers scoured the city for him for months. His body was finally found in Junction Creek alongside Riverside Drive on April 11. Bodson-Gratton's obituary described him as an energetic, loving and funny young man. Bodson-Gratton is survived by his parents — father Roch Bodson and wife Roukia, and mother Diane Gratton — his brothers Jordan, Rayan and Ayman, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. A visitation for Bodson-Gratton takes place Friday, May 3 from 2-5 and 7-9:30 p.m. at the Co-operative Funeral Home on Lasalle Boulevard. The celebration of life takes place Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. at St. Stephen's on the Hill United Church. The service is followed by a reception at the church and a cemetery service at the Valley East cemetery in Hanmer.
Water is flowing over Stobie Dam but there's no need to panic:
Greater Sudbury received record-breaking snow this past winter. These photos and video taken by reader Reg Lachapelle show just how much water has accumulated in the Vermillion River as the snow melts. The water flowing over the Stobie Dam may look disconcerting, but there's no need to panic. Conservation Sudbury told Sudbury.com the dam is no longer in operation and hasn't been a water control structure in many years. "The water level is not unexpected given the current situation," Conversation Sudbury general manager Carl Jorgensen said. "We have a lot of water moving through the river systems. Everything that comes down the Onaping River and Vermillion River goes through the Stobie Dam." The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) - Sudbury District has issued a flood watch for the area until May 3. Residents of Sudbury, Alban, Markstay-Warren, Wanup, St. Charles, Espanola, Manitoulin Island, areas of the North Shore and the unorganized Townships south of Sudbury, are encouraged to keep a close watch on conditions and avoid fast-moving rivers and streams.
Stop signs aren't optional: Three hours, six tickets on this Hanmer street:
Everyone likely has a stop sign in their neighbourhood that they just kind of roll through, but Greater Sudbury Police are reminding drivers that you can't pick and choose which traffic signals to obey and which to ignore. After getting several complaints from residents in a particular Hanmer neighbourhood, GSPS stationed an officer at the intersection of Lapointe Street and Glenn Street (after which Lapointe becomes Maurice Street) on Monday to monitor traffic. Police said the officer didn't have to wait long to see the complaints they received were justified. Between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., six motorists were spotted rolling through the intersection with barely a whisper of pressure on the break. Consequently, all six were issued tickets for failing to stop. Check out video from GSPS here.
Indigenous hip hop and the French-Canadian nightmare: Up Here 5 promises a wild lineup of than 40 acts:
Up Here, Sudbury’s urban art and music festival, has revealed the headliners and emerging artists that will be a part of its musical programming. The festival, back for its fifth-anniversary edition, runs Friday, Aug. 16 to Sunday, Aug. 18 in downtown Sudbury. The festival’s signature geodesic dome (and pop-up bar!) will also return to Durham Street. The main dome area will have its own unique schedule of musical acts and DJs to keep the party going under the sun and the stars. British Columbia's Snotty Nose Rez Kids will be featured at this year's festival, along with the self-proclaimed “French-Canadian nightmare” Hubert Lenoir. Check out the who's in the lineup so far here.
Wanted man gives GSPS the slip at Capreol train station:
Greater Sudbury Police are hoping the public can help ID a wanted man who gave local police the slip when they tried to arrest him at the Capreol train station late Saturday night. The man was wanted in North Bay in relation to a domestic incident, and police there tipped off GSPS that the man was headed toward Sudbury on a Via Rail train. Possibly having spotted police, witness on the train confirmed the man was on the train, but fled when it pulled into the station. Neither his name nor his photo were released by police to protect the identity of the alleged victim. The suspect is 38 years old, stands 6-2, and weighs about 200 lbs, with very short, brown hair. He was last seen wearing grey track pants, a black hoodie with a white logo, white running shoes and a black toque. Contact Greater Sudbury Police at 705-675-9171 if you have info.
Wednesday Weather:
Snow in the forecast for Wednesday, mixed with ice pellets and risk of freezing rain. Snow and ice pellet amounts between 5 - 10 cm. Wednesday's high will only get up to 1. Periods of drizzle with risk of freezing drizzle tonight. Overnight temperature steady at 1. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
