Most-read stories of the week: New Flair Airlines destinations, LRT hits pedestrian, suspicious man was doing good deed

Flair Airlines announces new destinations from Waterloo region airport

A Flair Airlines plane arrives at the Region of Waterloo International Airport (Dan Lauckner / CTV News Kitchener)

Flair Airlines has announced two new destinations from Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF).

Flair made the announcement about its new routes at a virtual press conference on Tuesday.

Starting Dec. 16, 2023, Flair will fly from YKF to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, three times a week.

Flair said it’s all part of a bigger plan to increase routes to sunny destinations in the winter, as the airline added several new routes across the province as well.

We’re seeing a lot of demand for the sun destinations,” Garth Lund, the chief commercial officer at Flair Airlines said during the press conference.

The low-cost airline said their winter 2023 schedule is their biggest one yet with 32 per cent more seats across the network, compared to last year.

Youth airlifted after being struck, trapped under LRT train in Kitchener

Keelan Zondervan (left) was transported to hopsital after being struck by an LRT in Kitchener on Wednesday. (Submitted/Melissa Irwin)

A youth has been airlifted to hospital in Hamilton with life-threatening injuries after being hit by an LRT train in Kitchener.

The crash happened just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in front of Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute on Charles Street East.

One person was airlifted to hospital after a crash involving an LRT in Kitchener. (Mubarika Ahmed)

The Kitchener Fire Department was the first emergency medical service on scene. Firefighters found a male trapped under the LRT train when they arrived.

“Paramedic services provided patient care while the Kitchener Fire Department lifted the train to allow extrication of the male,” Bethany Rowland, director of corporate communications and marketing at the City of Kitchener told CTV News in an email. “The patient was transferred by paramedic service to an air ambulance where he was taken to hospital.”

Crews on scene of a crash involving a pedestrian and LRT in Kitchener on March 8. (Krista Simpson/CTV News Kitchener)

A spokesperson for Ornge Air Ambulance told CTV News one pediatric patient was transported to Hamilton General with critical injuries.

Waterloo regional police said the train was travelling eastbound towards Stirling Avenue when the pedestrian was hit.

Police say relay and reprogramming thefts are on the rise in Waterloo region, here are the most-targeted vehicles

WRPS said both vehicles had similar damage to the driver’s door handle and the headliner pulled down at the trunk, exposing wiring harnesses. (CTV News/Jeff Pagett)

Police believe tech-savvy thieves are behind the theft of two vehicles from Cambridge this week.

According to The Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS), sometime overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, suspects stole two parked vehicles from driveways in south Cambridge.

Both vehicles were Toyota Highlanders, described as newer, high-end vehicles with keyless entry and push-start technology. The thefts happened on Haskell Road near McNichol Drive and on Bloomington Drive near Carpenter Road.

The vehicles were recovered in St. George on Thursday morning, both with similar damage to the driver’s door handle and the headliner pulled down at the trunk, exposing wiring harnesses.

One of the vehicles stolen from Cambridge that was found in St. George, seen on March 9, 2023. (CTV News/Jeff Pagett)

Police believe the thefts were related and were stolen using reprogramming technology.

“The suspects will approach the vehicle and force entry inside. Once inside the vehicle, an electronic device is used to access the vehicle's diagnostics. The suspects then reprogram a blank key fob so the vehicle can be started,” WRPS said in a news release.

  

Wheel comes off, hits commercial vehicle on Hwy. 403: Brant County OPP

A damaged commercial vehicle in the ditch on Hwy. 403. (Twitter: @OPP_WR) (Mar. 6, 2023)

A damaged commercial vehicle in the ditch on Hwy. 403. (Twitter: @OPP_WR) (Mar. 6, 2023) 

A transport truck ended up in the Highway 403 centre median Monday morning after a loose wheel flew off another vehicle and hit it.

Ontario Provincial Police Const. Conrad Vitalis said officers were called to the crash between Maple Avenue and Bishopgate Road around 8 a.m.

Police are still looking for the vehicle that lost its wheel.

"It’s entirely possible that the wheel came off the trailer of a large tractor trailer and that driver is not aware of it yet," Vitalis said. "Hopefully they figure that out soon because obviously that vehicle’s not safe at this point."

No injuries were reported.

Lead Hand Mechanic Hunter Neamtu putting tires on a truck at Batten's Truck Centre Ltd. March 6, 2023. (Colton Wiens/CTV News)

Police said the wheel flew off a vehicle travelling eastbound, striking a truck travelling westbound.

“That driver thankfully, [with] good training, driving skills, kept it upright in the ditch, but did enter the centre median ditch where it had to be towed out,” Vitalis said.

Police are not sure if charges will be laid. They need to locate the vehicle with the missing tire first.

According to Batten’s Truck Centre in Kitchener, loose tires are a common issue that they deal with.Lead Hand Mechanic Hunter Neamtu putting tires on a truck at Batten's Truck Centre Ltd. March 6, 2023. (Colton Wiens/CTV News)

'Suspicious' man who offered chocolates to boy was actually participating in Random Acts of Kindness Day: Ont. police

A box of chocolates appears in a stock photo. (Lu Amaral/Pexels)

Police in Hanover, Ont. have ended their investigation into a man who tried to give a young person a box of chocolates after determining he was participating in Random Acts of Kindness Day.

In a media release issued on Friday, Hanover police said they were investigating a “suspicious older male” who reportedly pulled over and approached a youth walking home from school on Wednesday.

At the time, police said the man offered the boy a box of ‘Pot of Gold’ chocolates. When the student declined, the man insisted, saying the boy could give them to his mom.

In a new release issued Tuesday, police said they’d found the man and determined his intentions “were genuine and pure.”