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ELORA – Wellington County OPP are still searching for a driver who fled a collision causing serious injuries to a riding lawnmower operator.
A suspicious person seen in a wooded area of former Pilkington Township on Saturday may be connected to the incident.
Last Friday morning a serious motor vehicle collision was reported on Second Line between Sideroads 4 and 10 south of Elora.
It was reported a white SUV collided with a riding lawnmower causing serious injuries to the operator. The lawnmower operator was airlifted by Ornge air ambulance to a trauma centre.
The driver of the SUV fled the scene on foot and was not located despite an extensive search using a canine unit and emergency response team.
In a phone call Wednesday, Wellington County OPP spokesperson Kirk MacDonald said the injuries are now considered non-life threatening but the driver of the SUV has not been located.
He said on Saturday, OPP were reported about a suspicious person in the area of Weisenberg Road in the former Pilkington Township.
“There was information that led us to believe that suspicious person may in fact be the person that fled from that crash originally,” MacDonald said.
“Because of the seriousness of that crash, there was a concern the other driver may have suffered injuries.”
He said this led to another extensive hours-long search of the area with an aviation unit, canine unit and emergency response team officers but they were unable to locate the individual.
Due to the status of the case as an active investigation, MacDonald could not say if the SUV was connected to a particular person or stolen.
Wellington OPP are appealing for witnesses to the crash or the suspicious person seen in the Weisenberg Road area.
Anyone with any information can contact the Wellington County OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip online.
