‘Traumatizing experience’: Winnipegger has close call with falling traffic light

CTV’s Michelle Gerwing has more from a woman who said a signal light pole fell on her car while driving.

A Winnipeg woman is reminding drivers to always keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel after what she describes as “a very traumatizing experience.”

Kristi Heaver said her drive home last Wednesday evening is a night she will never forget after a traffic signal pole fell and hit her vehicle.

“Considering the fact that if I would have been a couple inches forward, that would have landed on my roof, and who knows where I would be today,” she said.

She told CTV News she was headed west on the Perimeter Highway (PTH 100), driving 90 km/h in the middle lane, passing through the Provincial Road 330 intersection.

“I was just doing my normal thing, driving straight, and the next thing I knew it was just there,” she said, adding she quickly slammed on her brakes.

She said the pole bounced off her car and hit the pavement in front of her, and she drove over it before coming to a stop. Pictures show the damage to her car, which she said could have been a lot worse.

“It all kind of seems like a blur, but so clear at the same time,” she said. “I just want someone to be held accountable.”

The standard and other traffic lights are controlled by the province on the Perimeter Highway, and Heaver said she wants information about how they are maintained.

A provincial spokesperson told CTV News, “Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure staff regularly monitor and perform routine maintenance across the provincial road network, which includes traffic signals. Prior to the collision that occurred on Feb. 19 at the intersection of Provincial Trunk Highway 100 and Provincial Road 330, the department last inspected the traffic signal installation in January 2023, where it was found to be in good condition.”

Winnipeg police say officers were on the scene to direct traffic after the incident but said there is no criminal investigation pending.

Heaver has since filed a claim with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and the crown corporation declined to comment, citing privacy policies. A statement said all claims are assessed and investigated.

Traffic light poles breakaway when struck: Engineer

Heaver said she’s aware that the chances of the pole falling without cause are slim, so she is gathering evidence to support her account of the incident.

She said she tracked down a witness who provided a written account of the incident and confirmed Heaver did not hit the pole before it fell.

That witness did not want to be identified but offered to speak to MPI on Heaver’s behalf.

CTV News sent a photo taken Feb. 24 of the light standard base to Safety Base Ltd., a Manitoba company that manufactures traffic light breakaway systems that absorb the force of collisions causing traffic standards to breakaway when struck.

Technical sales engineer Andrew Saygnavong said the base appears to be the breakaway assembly but would not speculate on what may have caused this incident.

“We have tens of thousands of our breakaway assemblies used all over the world and have not had a pole fall over for no specific reason,” he said.

Heaver doesn’t know what caused the pole to fall, and she stressed she did not strike it before it fell. The light has since been put back up, however, Heaver said she won’t be taking that way home any time soon.

“I am definitely very paranoid whenever I drive under a city light, because I never know if it’s going to fall.”