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Major damage reported after pickup truck hits house in Pelham

Wainfleet driver faces impaired charges as a result
Niagara-on-the-Lake Local Staff
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Niagara Regional PoliceSource: Facebook

NEWS RELEASE
NIAGARA REGIONAL POLICE
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Niagara Regional Police Service officers are investigating after a car collided with a house in Pelham.

On Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 at 1:27 a.m., emergency service personnel responded to a residence on Welland Road near Haist Street following reports that a grey 2006 Ford F150 pickup truck had struck the house, a police news release says. The Ford was occupied solely by the driver. The residence housed a family of six people. Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics and Pelham Fire Services were at the scene, all parties were assessed by paramedics, and none of the residents of the home were physically injured.

Officers found the driver attempting to flee on foot through the hole created by the Ford. In speaking with the driver, they believed he was impaired by alcohol. Empty liquor bottles were found inside the Ford. The driver was arrested and transported to a local hospital for treatment of what is believed to be minor injuries.

Timothy John Climenhaga (48 years) of Wainfleet has been arrested and charged with the following offences:
    •    Impaired operation of a conveyance – Sec. 320.14(1)(a) CC
    •    Impaired operation of a conveyance – Exceed BAC - Sec. 320.14(1)(b) CC
    •    Driving while under suspension – Sec. 53 HTA

After being medically cleared, Climenhaga was transported to the NRPS Prisoner Management Unit in Niagara Falls and held in custody for a video bail hearing at the courthouse in St. Catharines later Monday.

Climenhaga has also been issued an administrative driver's licence suspension, which is issued to everyone charged with similar driving offences and prohibits him from operating a motor vehicle for 90 days from the date it was issued.

The damage to the home is believed to be major, although an estimate was not available. Out of an abundance of safety, the Ford could not be immediately removed from the home until the structural integrity of the house could be assessed. Engineers have since been to the house, and the Ford has been removed. The house has been deemed unsafe at this time. The Ford received moderate damage and has been seized as part of the investigation, the news release says.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the investigating officers at 905-688-4111, option 3, ext. 1023300, referencing incident 23-129617.

Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-8477. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information that leads to an arrest.

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