BRIGDEN – Hundreds of people flocked to this small Lambton County community Tuesday to celebrate the life of the teen who died in a three-car crash at a nearby rural intersection that’s since claimed the life of a second person.
Noah Nicholson, 19, from Brigden was honoured by a large crowd of people who knew him during the 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. event at the Brigden Fairgrounds.
“Family and friends were so important to Noah. He had a real ability to make a friend of anyone. He cared deeply for people,” his obituary says.
Tuesday was a public event for anyone who knew him or his Brigden-area family ahead of an upcoming private funeral. Nicholson’s parents, Aaron and Lydia, politely declined any media coverage of it.
“He was a wonderful son and shared a beautiful, loving relationship with both of his parents. His great sense of humour always brought laughter and light to any room he entered,” his obit continues.
Nicholson, who was studying at Lambton College and worked at Lambton County Developmental Services, a job he loved, also was an amazing brother to his two sisters and had a special bond with each of them, his obit says. The private funeral will be held at a later date, it adds.
In the meantime, an online fundraiser has been launched by Nicholson’s cousin, Jace Walker, to help the family pay for funeral costs. On the website, Nicholson is remembered by his cousin as a bright, positive, dedicated and compassionate young man.
“He was the kind of guy you wanted to put yourself around and have a conversation with. If you weren’t having a fantastic conversation with him, he was cracking jokes with you. He was a blessing to have in the family, and was taken way too soon,” he wrote.
Nearly 600 donors combined to raise more than $36,000 of the $40,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon. In an update earlier that day, Walker asked those who knew his cousin to continue sharing the fundraiser with their family and friends.
“Every little bit helps during these tough times. Noah touched so many lives, and together, we can help honour his memory,” he wrote.
In an update issued Monday, Lambton OPP said a second person died in hospital from injuries suffered in the same crash. A Lambton OPP spokesperson said Tuesday by email the second person was an 82-year-old Sarnia resident who died Oct. 14.
A driver and passenger in a third vehicle also were taken to hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police have said.
The three-vehicle collision took place Thanksgiving Sunday around 2:15 p.m. on Courtright Line near Mandaumin Road in St. Clair Township. Mandaumin Road is controlled by large stop signs while vehicles heading east and west on Courtright Line have right of way. The speed limit there is 80 or 90 kilometres an hour, depending on the road.
In the wake of the crash, an online petition has been launched aimed at preventing fatal collisions on Courtright Line by installing safety measures such as rumble strips, roundabouts or four-way stops where the road intersects with Mandaumin and Kimball roads. Organizer Kailey Dalgety wrote her spouse is a first responder who has been called to a handful of fatalities at those two intersections since they moved to the area in 2018.
“It has been at least one fatality a year and yet absolutely no action has been taken by the municipality to prevent this from happening again. Sadly another individual lost their life (Thanksgiving) weekend,” she wrote.
She asked people to sign the petition and urge their local politicians to introduce those suggested changes.
St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar said he received an email with the petition and the suggestions.
“I had my clerk send it to the county for their input as it was county roads,” he said Wednesday morning via email. “Stay tuned.”
Lambton County Warden Kevin Marriott said council hasn’t met since Oct. 2 and the next meeting isn’t until Nov. 6. There was a committee of the whole meeting on Oct. 16, but this issue would have to come to council, he said.
“The intersection at Kimball and Petrolia Line as well as the intersection at London Line and Forest Road are in the queue for the 2025 budget,” he added via email.
Although it wasn’t specifically referenced in the petition, another fatal crash took place at another Courtright Line intersection last month. A Windsor couple who had just celebrated their 57th anniversary was killed after their vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer at Inwood Road and Courtright Line in Brooke-Alvinston Sept. 11.
A trucker, who later was lauded as a hero, died at that same spot in 2022.
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