Top stories of the week: Sixth person dies in Mapleton Township crash, golfer facing online backlash and a Brantford high school name change

Ontario Provincial Police at the scene of a deadly crash in Mapleton Township, Ont. on June 13, 2026. (Alexandra Holyk/CTV News)

42-year-old Brampton man dies following Ontario crash that killed 5 children

A sixth person has died following a serious two-vehicle collision in Mapleton Township, Ont. on June 12, according to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

The update comes as families and community members were already gathering to mourn five children killed in the same crash.

Devastating collision at rural intersection

On June 12, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the Ontario Provincial Police Wellington County Detachment responded to a collision at the intersection of 4th Line and Wellington Road 12 involving a passenger van and an SUV.

Police said four of the children inside the van were pronounced dead at the scene. A fifth child was pronounced dead in hospital.

Five other occupants of the van were injured, including an infant, with injuries ranging from serious to minor.

All 10 were from the Atwood area.

The driver of the SUV, a 42-year-old man from Brampton, was transported to hospital following the crash.

Police confirmed Saturday he had died in hospital Friday as a result of his injuries.

Funeral service for five children

A funeral was scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by interment in Milverton, Ont. for the five children who were killed in the crash.

They have all been identified as members of the Doerksen family.

Peter was 12 years old, Helena was 10, Sara was 8, Maggie was 6 and Susy was 4.

A visitation was held Friday at the Wallenstein Bible Chapel in Wallenstein, Ont.

Community rallies around family

Kara Carter, a pastor at Elmira Mennonite Church, is not associated with the family but said in the days following the crash, support has poured in from across the region, with online fundraisers raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the affected families.

“[We’re] near that kind of small community culture that everybody knows each other or is connected to somebody or knows somebody who’s related and so we feel it in those ways,” she told CTV News on Saturday. “As I have been about in the community this past week, I have heard just this strong yearning, this need to respond. Some will be offering food, some will be offering transportation to see family members in the hospital. Others, it is a spiritual resource of prayer.”

A photo of family involved in Friday’s tragic crash in Mapleton Township near Drayton, Ont.

Carter said the focus remains on remembrance — and on supporting those left behind as they continue to navigate an overwhelming loss.

“Our gatherings are such an important part in helping us move through grief. Grief is a long, long journey, and it is unique for each individual,” she said.

For those honouring the lives that were lost, it is a moment not focused on questions — but on saying goodbye.

“This tragedy has been extremely far reaching and so the numbers that gather today reflect that we need to be together in the midst of tragedy and trauma,” Carter said.

Investigation ongoing

The investigation is being led by the Wellington County OPP Crime Unit under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, with support from the Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

OPP Forensic Identification Services and the Traffic Incident Management and Enforcement team are also assisting.

Appeal for information

Investigators are asking anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has dashcam footage from the area to come forward.

Information can be provided directly to OPP or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

With reporting from CTV News Kitchener’s Alexandra Holyk, Jennifer Baker and Shelby Knox

Canadian golfer facing online vitriol over mistaken identity

A golfer from Brantford, Ont., is facing a slew of online hatred in a case of mistaken identity.

It began when ABC News wrote an article about the arrest of three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn. The 67-year-old canoeist from Bethesda, Maryland, was cuffed after he allegedly touched a piece of blue coating that had detached from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

The iconic landmark has been the target of criticism and extensive repairs after a $14.7 million renovation.

In a social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed there was a “350-foot gash” in the paint. He has, without evidence, repeatedly blamed vandals for the site’s ongoing challenges.

Trump said six people, including Hearn, were arrested for the damage.

But when ABC News covered the story, they mistakenly used a photo of Brampton-born Canadian PGA golfer David Hearn, who now lives in Brantford. A post on X, with the wrong picture, was published on Sunday night and has since garnered more than 256,400 views. The post was still viewable on the @ABC account as of Tuesday afternoon.

A correction was made to the article, but the Canadian golfer, who goes by @HearnDavid on X, has been fielding a steady stream of accusations ever since.

“@HearnDavid you are going to jail you worthless piece of liberal (expletive),” an X user, identified as “Travelling Johnny The Patriot,” wrote.

Hearn responded with, “Please direct your anger to a better place… or even the correct David Hearn. There happens to be more than one person in the world with the same name.”

Brantford’s David Hearn also has a foundation, called The David Hearn Foundation, which has raised more than $1.2 million for the Alzheimer’s Society of Brant, Haldimand Norfolk, Hamilton Halton chapter. Angry social media users zeroed in on that aspect of his life.

“Hey David, spend more time on the foundation and less time vandalizing reflection pools. You are the epitome of,” an X user named Vic Mackey wrote. Mackey did not specify what Hearn is “the epitome of.”

Meanwhile, the American canoeist has denied all allegations he intentionally damaged the reflection pool.

CTV News Kitchener has reached out to Brantford’s David Hearn for his take on the naming mishap.

Highway 403 trucker slaying still haunts investigators 32 years later

The Brantford Police Service is renewing its push for answers in the fatal shooting of truck driver Michael James Lovejoy — a case that remains unsolved more than three decades later.

Lovejoy, a transport truck driver from Flint, Mich., was found dead inside his vehicle on Highway 403, near Brantford, Ont., in April 1994.

He had only been working for RTS Transport Inc. for about five weeks.

At the time of his death, the 35-year-old was married and had a child. Police said Lovejoy’s family is still seeking answers to his murder.

Cross-border route ended on Ontario highway

Lovejoy left the American Axle & Manufacturing plant in Buffalo, N.Y., shortly before 11 a.m. on April 8, 1994. He crossed into Canada at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge around 12:20 p.m. and was supposed to drop off his load of automotive axles later that night at the GMC truck and bus plant in Pontiac, Mich.

Witnesses saw Lovejoy’s tractor-trailer pull over onto the westbound shoulder of Highway 403 between 1:30 p.m. and 1:45 p.m., about 1.4 kilometres east of the Wayne Gretzky Parkway.

Police said the vehicle was stopped there for an extended period of time.

“That specific portion of the highway, it seems unusual that a transport truck would be parked there,” Insp. Keith Tollar, of the Brantford Police Service, told CTV News in May 2026.

Lovejoy found dead in sleeper cab

Another driver with RTS Transport, travelling the same route, noticed Lovejoy’s truck parked on the highway about 24 hours later.

The driver attempted to reach him over CB radio but received no response. Lovejoy’s CB handle was “SuperTramp.”

The following day, at about 2:15 p.m. on April 9, the same driver stopped and checked the vehicle.

He found Lovejoy’s body in the sleeper compartment of the white 1991 GMC tractor-trailer.

Police said Lovejoy had been shot multiple times.

“Members of the Brantford Police Service attended Highway 403 on the west side, approximately one mile east of the Park Road North overpass,” Tollar said. “Information had been received that a transport truck was parked at the side of the road. Police conducted an investigation and unfortunately found Michael James Lovejoy deceased in the rear portion of this transport trailer.”

Lovejoy had set his wristwatch alarm for 5:30 p.m. and his shoes and socks were on the floor of the cab. His wallet was left inside the vehicle, and the trailer’s cargo was untouched.

Police said robbery was not believed to be the motive for the shooting.

Witness reports and unidentified individual

Witnesses described a tractor-trailer with similar markings parked behind Lovejoy’s vehicle in the hours after he stopped.

Some also reported seeing a man walking between the two trucks.

Police said that man has never been identified.

“I think anyone that was part of that investigation would still be considered a person of interest,” Tollar said. “If anyone has information in relation to who that individual was, we’d love to speak to them.”

More than 300 tips were received in the months after the killing, but police said none of them led to charges.

New technology and ongoing review

Brantford Police renewed the public appeal for information in the years after Lovejoy’s death, citing improvements to the digital record-keeping and case linkage systems.

Handwritten notes from 1994 were digitized and entered into centralized systems specifically designed to identify links between cases and across jurisdictions.

Investigators said advances in DNA technology have also helped advance other historical cases, and they continue to review evidence collected in the Lovejoy investigation.

“The investigators are constantly poring over that information,” Tollar explained. “Because there’s been quite a significant gap in time, we have assigned several investigators to that. Even though we call these cases cold, they’re not really cold.”

Investigators urge witnesses to come forward

Police are asking anyone who may have been travelling on Highway 403 near Brantford on or around April 8, 1994, or who may have seen Lovejoy’s truck stopped on the shoulder, to reach out.

Investigators said even small details, such as second-hand information shared in conversations, could be relevant to the case.

“Sometimes people talk. They might have heard something at a party or a gathering,” Tollar said. “We would appeal to you specifically, to this investigation, because it’s been such a big time gap, somebody from Canada or the U.S. may have some information.”

They can contact the Brantford Police Service or Crime Stoppers.

“We have dedicated people sworn in that are really passionate about the work that they do,” Toller said. “We don’t stop investigating these things, and we won’t stop until we solve them.”

This is part of an ongoing series dedicated to cold and unsolved cases in southwestern Ontario. More stories can be found at Unsolved 519.

Trustees vote to rename Brantford school following controversial Italy trip

The school at the heart of a scandal involving trustees with the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board is getting a new name.

Trustees voted to change the name of Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School at a meeting on June 23.

“Trustees recognized that ongoing discussion surrounding the school’s current name had, for some, detracted from the excitement and anticipation associated with opening a new Catholic secondary school,” read a statement from Board Chair Carol Luciani. “As we prepare for its opening, we want the conversation to be centred on student success, faith formation, school spirit, and the many opportunities this new Catholic secondary school will provide.”

The controversy started in 2024 when four school board trustees flew to Italy to buy religious artwork for St. Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School in Brantford, Ont. and Pope Francis Catholic Elementary School in Caledonia, Ont.

A review of that trip revealed Richard Petrella, Dan Dignard, William Chopp and Mark Watson spent the board’s money on luxury cars, high-end hotel stays and fancy dinners at a Michelin star restaurant.

The price tag for those expenses, plus the artwork, was estimated at $190,000.

On April 23, 2025, Education Minister Paul Calandra ordered the trustees to reimburse the school board for the expenses they racked during the trip. Petrella, Dignard and Chopp all agreed to the demand, but Watson never paid his $12,370 portion. Calandra introduced legislation in October 2025 to fire the trustee but, five days later, the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board announced Watson’s resignation. The education minister said it was long overdue.

“Mr. Watson still owes the board thousands in taxpayer dollars, and I expect him to pay it back,” Calandra said in a statement on Oct. 24, 2025. “Those funds should be supporting student achievement, not paying for lavish all-inclusive European summer vacations for out of touch school board trustees.”

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Construction is still underway at the now former Padre Pio Catholic Secondary School on Powerline Road.

“The naming process will begin in the fall of 2026,” Luciani wrote in her statement. “Students, families, staff, parish representatives, and community members will have an opportunity to participate in the process.”

She added trustees hoped the new name would inspire “pride among future students and families.”

Luciani did not say what would happen to the statue of St. Padre Pio and a large crucifix that were specifically purchased for the school on that infamous Italy trip.

New rules for Ontario auto insurance could leave drivers exposed experts warn

Ontario drivers will have new decisions to make when renewing their auto insurance policies as the provincial government rolls out major changes.

Starting on July 1, nine out of 12 previously mandatory accident benefits will become optional. Under the provincial policy that was first introduced in the 2024 Ontario budget, medical, rehabilitation and attendant care benefits will still be mandatory.

The nine other categories that will become options are income replacement benefits, non-earner benefits, caregiver benefits, housekeeping benefits, visitor expense benefits, lost educational expenses, damage to personal items and death and funeral expenses.

The provincial government said the changes are meant to empower consumers with more options, but insurance experts warn trimming coverage to save a few dollars could leave drivers dangerously exposed.

Steve Lauzon, an insurance broker with Waterloo-based Donovan Insurance Brokers, said some drivers can afford to opt out of the ‘income replacement’ benefits depending on their stage of life.

“If you were involved in an auto accident and you had to use that benefit, that’s essentially like a disability benefit,” Lauzon said. “So, if you’re unable to work then they would supplement your income. But if you’re retired, you don’t need that coverage because you don’t have any income, so why pay for it?”

Lauzon said a lot of his clients are being cautious.

“If you remove certain things and then you do have an unfortunate incident, you could be at risk to not have coverage,” Lauzon said. “A lot of them are opting just to leave it because a dollar over the course of a year, or 15 bucks over the course of the year is not that much in the grand scheme of things.”

The changes also shift how coverage applies to other road users. Previously, a driver’s policy automatically extended full benefits to passengers, pedestrians or cyclists injured in a collision. After July 1, those people will only get mandatory medical and rehab benefits under the driver’s no-fault insurance. Extra benefits like income replacement will only kick in if those individuals carry that specific coverage on their own policies.

Some drivers may find they already have overlapping coverage through work or private plans.

“I have heard other people say, ‘Well, I have all these other benefits. I have a separate policy for health care and income replacement, so I don’t need it on my auto policy,’” said Anne Marie Thomas from the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

The changes will not happen automatically and will only take effect when a policy comes up for renewal after July 1. If no changes are made, policies will stay as is.

“If you want to change some of these coverages, you’re going to have to do so in writing,” Thomas said. “You’re going to have to send an email or sign a document that lets your insurance broker or agent know, ‘Yes, I want to remove this coverage or that coverage.’”