Millions of dollars worth of coins, and a load of candy, were scattered along the Trans-Canada Highway and in the bush in northeastern Ontario on Wednesday.
A Brink’s tractor-trailer truck was driving along Highway 11 north of Kirkland Lake, when it hit a rock cut.
In this case, rock cuts are steep, rocky cliffs on either side of the highway created when a highway is carved through a hill. They are common in northern Ontario.
Brink’s armoured trucks are typically used to transport large amounts of money. (Brink’s is the name of a security company.)
Two people from the Brink’s truck have been taken to two different hospitals with serious injuries.
The truck crash also caused others driving along the highway to crash into one another, in a chain reaction. One of the trucks involved in one of those crashes was carrying a shipment of candy.
Candy, along with more than $3-million in loonies and toonies, was scattered along the highway and by the side of the road.
The drivers in the secondary accidents had minor injuries.
Brink’s is considering bringing in a magnetic crane to collect the coins. Another option is to use front-end loaders to scoop up the dirt where the coins are. The coins would then be sifted out of the dirt.
The highway is closed and police are standing guard over the area.
Update, 9:45 a.m. Thurs., March 29
CTV News reported this morning that the truck was carrying as much as $5-million in loonies and toonies. As well, a local worker has come to the scene with an industrial-strength magnet to help clean up the coins. They also reported that the coins are covered with road salt and will have to be cleaned before they can be put back into circulation. Unfortunately, the two men from the Brink’s truck are still in hospital with very serious injuries.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
How would you collect the missing coins? Why is your plan a good one? What are its faults?
Reading Prompt: Text Patterns
Today’s article is organized to help readers understand the text easily. Reread the text and discuss with a friend what each paragraph is trying to tell the reader. Why did the author choose to order the paragraphs this way?
Primary
Recognize a few organizational patterns in texts of different types, and explain how the patterns help readers understand the texts (OME, Reading: 2.2).
Junior
Identify a variety of organizational patterns in a range of texts and explain
how they help readers understand the texts (OME, Reading: 2.2).
Intermediate
Analyse increasingly complex texts to identify organizational patterns used in
them and explain how the patterns help communicate meaning(OME, Reading: 2.2).
Grammar Feature: Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that connects other words or different parts of a sentence together. There are many conjunctions in English and readers and writers use them a lot. Some of the most common conjunctions are: and, because, but, if, or, so, than, that, until, while, when, and where.
Complete the sentences below using as many of the conjunctions above as you can.
1. Sienna and I want to go, _______________________________ it’s fun.
2. Diego thinks he can win _______________________________ he tries.
3. Getting a lot of rest _________________________ you can is a good idea.
4. Mr. Bergstern works __________________________________ it gets late.
5. You can have a candy ___________________ your mom gave you one.
