Jail time for man involved in fatal Punkeydoodles Corners crash two years ago
It’s closed for safety improvements today, but two years ago Punkeydoodles Corners was the scene of a crash that saw a young woman from Wilmot killed and her sister seriously injured.
Now the man behind the wheel of that fatal crash faces jail time.
The Waterloo Region Record reported Thomas Rea, now 21 years old, will spend two years less a day behind bars after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with the Oct. 15, 2022, collision.
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The judge also handed Rea a five-year driving ban, noting he should have been driving with more caution and instead chose to use the stretch of roadway as “his personal speedway.”
Sadie Bender, 22, was killed when her car was t-boned on Punkeydoodles Avenue at 7:30 p.m. on that October night.
Her 16-year-old sister Casey was also in the car and was seriously injured.
History of Punkeydoodles Corners Safety Concerns
Construction crews are the only vehicles driving through the four intersections that make up Punkeydoodles Corners today.
It comes after all four municipalities circling the area, Oxford County, Perth County, Township of Wilmot and Region of Waterloo, heard from hundreds of residents pleading the collection of intersections just isn’t safe.
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Work began this summer on a complete reconfiguration of the roadways, pavement reconstruction, deceleration lanes, additional street lighting and enhanced signage.
Its all expected to wrap up this November.
A construction notice on the Oxford County website points out that following construction “the west leg of Punkeydoodles Avenue at Perth Road 101 and the north leg of Township Road 11 at the intersection of Township Road 11 and Perth Road 101 will remain permanently closed.”
Follow the full construction plans here.
