'It's scary': 2nd crash at Antigonish intersection within a week leaves 3 hurt

The driver of a car was taken to hospital in Halifax and a passenger was also seriously injured after a collision with a pickup truck Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 4 and Beech Hill Road in Antigonish.

RCMPCpl. Jennifer Clarke said the driver of the truck suffered minor injuries.

The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. The road was closed for about six hours as RCMP traffic analysts examined the area.

It was the second crash in a week at the same intersection. A41-year-old man from Toronto died after the car he was in collided with a logging truck on Monday.

RCMP said the man had stopped at the intersection beforepulling outonto the highway where he was struck by the eastbound truck. The truck also hita second car that was in the intersection.

The people in the other vehicles were not hurt.

Problem intersection for trucker

The intersection is a problem area that trucker Wesley Lirettesaid he avoidsif he can. He'd like to seethe province install a set of lights.

As recently as Wednesday, Lirette had to slam on the brakes while driving west along the highway when two vehicles stopped on opposite sides of Beech Hill Road decided to pull out and cross in front of him at the last minute.

As he was heading down the hill, there were only a few truck lengths between him and the cars.

"I just couldn't believe what happened, so fresh off the [Monday] accident," he said.

"It's scary. They're putting their lives in a lot of factors: my reaction time, my equipment."

Lirette, who is from Amherst and spends 12-14 hours a day driving through northern Nova Scotia, worries that when he hits the brakeshard, something could fail in his truck and he wouldn't be able to stop in time.

"Everybody is in a hurry all the time ... It just seems that people see a truck going, [they think] that truck is slow, going to slow me down. So I've got to get out in front of him at all costs," he said.

"[They're] putting their lives in the hands of not just me, but my equipment and their equipment."

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