Most-read stories of the week: Accidental car seizure, Hells Angels, rats in Waterloo

National Bank of Canada seizes Ont. woman's car by mistake

A McMaster University student living in St. Agatha, Ont. woke up to a shocking realization on Friday.

 

“I walked out to go to work in the morning and my car was missing,” Makayla Hahn said.

She and her family then phoned police. They assumed thieves may be to blame, but after looking through security camera footage from a neighbour, they saw a towing company attaching her 2018 Honda Civic to their truck and driving away.

“I ended up missing work because I had no way [to go in],” she said, adding that she’s not old enough to rent a car in Ontario, where the minimum age requirement is 21. “It was an awful, awful day.”

With no answer as to why it was taken, her family was able to track the car down to an OPENLANE auction lot in Brampton, Ont., thanks to help from police.

Police execute search warrant at Hells Angels clubhouse in Kitchener

Five people associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang are facing charges after police raided two homes and two unlicensed bars in Waterloo Region.

Ontario Provincial Police and Waterloo Regional Police conducted the searches on May 11, May 13 and May 21.

But the case started much earlier.

“The investigation began several months ago in response to complaints about violence surrounding an after-hours bar or an illegal bar,” said Insp. Scott Wade with the OPP’s Biker Enforcement Unit. “As the Waterloo Regional Police investigated it, they learned that there was an association or connection to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.”

Ont. powerlifter battles back after catching mild cold that turned into rare and deadly disease

A powerlifter currently living in Wallenstein, Ont., west of Elmira, caught a mild cold last year that quickly turned into a deadly disease.

Jared Maynard, 33, is a physical therapist and working out is a part of his identity.

“It’s something that I do basically every day in some way, shape or form,” Maynard explained. “I started to feel a bit under the weather, but so did my wife and my kids. It was the season everyone was getting sick.”

As his family started to recover, Maynard only got worse. His cold symptoms evolved into insomnia, swollen lymph nodes and his skin even turned yellow as his organs began to fail.

Jared Maynard, a 33-year-old powerlifter from Wallenstein, Ont., on June 6, 2024. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV Kitchener)

Ont. woman shares challenges of living on disability benefits

A woman in Kitchener living on disability benefits is sharing just how hard the process is, and hoping more can be done to help.

Amanda Kroetsch used to live well in British Columbia, but had to get away from a domestic abuse situation that left her with a brain injury about five years ago.

She returned home to Kitchener and stayed with family members to start.

She qualified for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit.

Kroetsch eventually moved into a shared accommodation and then an attic space, but due to her injuries, she never felt like she could relax in the environment.

Amanda Kroetsch prepares food at her new apartment in Kitchener on June 7, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV News)

Concerns about rats running rampant in Waterloo, Ont.

It appears large rats have taken up residence in Waterloo, Ont.

Olivia Masiuk and her friend were walking uptown last week at around 2 a.m. when they spotted the rodents.

“All of a sudden, a massive rat comes running by my foot,” she recalled. “I was like, what the hell is that?”

So they did what any social media-savvy students would do and pulled out their cameras.

It turned into a series which they then posted online. Of course, they had a little fun with it, narrating the videos as if they were a nature documentary.

“We literally have New York rats in Waterloo! That’s the crazy part,” Masiuk told CTV News.

A rat seen in Uptown Waterloo. (Source: Maddie Kelly)