Man, girl injured after collision involving transport truck at King and Dundurn

A man and girl were injured after a collision involving a transport truck at a busy Hamilton intersection required them to be cut out of a car Monday morning.

Emergency crews were called to King Street West and Dundurn Street South just after 9 a.m. Firefighters had to remove the roof of a black Acura in order to transport a man and youth to hospital, according to Const. Indy Bharaj, who described the extraction as a "team effort."

A 12-year-old girl was taken to hospital in stable condition, while a man in his 30s was in serious condition, said Dave Thompson, a superintendent with Hamilton Paramedic Services.

Police initially said both driver and passenger were seriously hurt, but in an update shared around 9 p.m., said the girl's injuries were minor.

Bharaj stressed it's early in the investigation, but said police believe the truck was turning left onto King Street when it crashed with the car, which was driving on Dundurn.

Police said the vehicles collided in the intersection, but came to a stop a short distance down King.

A 'Top 10' intersection for collisions, say police

"This is a very, very busy intersection," Bharaj said, adding it's on the police service's Top 10 list of crash locations.

"It's on our radar and we're going to continue to educate and enforce in these areas."

The 51-year-old driver of the truck was in "shock" following the crash and is cooperating with police, said Bharaj.

Hamilton councillors recently approved safety reviews of two intersections following a spate of collisions involving pedestrians.

One of those crossings is Dundurn and Main Street West, just a block from Monday's crash.

A 14-year-old girl, who police said was walking home from school, was hit and left critically injured less than a month ago.

Yellow police tape surrounded the area on Monday morning, shutting down traffic that's typically humming through the crossing.

The scene drew neighbours who shook their heads and shared concerns about the intersection.

Audrey Smythe stopped on her scooter to survey the damage.

"I get sick in my stomach," she said, explaining she was hit at the intersection about six years ago.

The 80-year-old said she had stopped at the Fortinos in the shopping plaza to get some ice cream. When she got to the lights the countdown to cross was already on, but she decided to try and make it, Smythe recalled.

She was hit and suffered a broken leg, she said. The Monday crash there made it all come back again, she added.

"It took me a long time to cope, to cross the street again," she said, gesturing at the collision.

"This is like a death trap," said Daniel Mercanti, who lives about two blocks away. "There could be three or four of these a week, easily."

The 62-year-old said there are too many businesses and signs around, making the already busy area even more distracting.

"It's just really unsafe," he said.

Drivers also treat the stop light as a "race track" to try and compete for a place at one of the Highway 403 exits that flank King Street just a few hundred metres up the road, he added.

"If you sit for one hour on a bench, you will hear horns beep at least 18 or 20 times," said Mercanti.

"The pedestrians here, you've basically got to do the sign of the cross before you [walk]."

Police said the collision reconstruction unit is looking into the crash.

"Investigators have not been able to rule out any contributing factors," the service stated in a media release.

The intersection was closed for about eight hours for investigation and cleanup but has since reopened.