Clyde residents remember neighbour, call for change following deadly crash

People living in Clyde want new traffic calming measures installed following a deadly collision involving a riding lawn mower. CTV’s Krista Simpson reports.

People living in the community of Clyde appeared before North Dumfries Council on Monday night, pleading for action after a 51-year-old man was killed while he was using a riding lawn mower last week.

The group, Concerned Residents of Clyde, asked council to consider installing traffic calming measures, such a stop signs or speed bumps, after their neighbour was killed on June 15 when he was hit by a driver in a BMW.

“Clyde residents, we’ve come out in force and with love in our hearts and with unwavering determination. We will forever remember our neighbour Nathan Smith,” a representative for the group said.

Neighbours who knew Smith said he was a husband, father, WestJet pilot and a good friend.

“He was actually mowing on township property in front of his neighbour’s [home], which he did all the time,” said Dave Brodhagen, who lives on Clyde Road. “He always was out there for you.”

“No one should have to feel unsafe”

The presentation to council included a letter written by Jasmine Smith, the daughter of Nathan Smith.

She described constantly hearing the sounds of revving engines while growing up along Clyde Road.

“At best the sounds were an annoyance, at worst it was the death of my father,” her letter stated.

“The danger of an accident is always present when driving a car and doubled when that car is speeding. This has always been a problem with Clyde Road and the reality is that my father’s death was preventable,” she wrote.

“…if some action had been taken sooner I believe my dad would have finished mowing the lawn. He would have gone back inside and continued his day. I would have seen him again,” she continued.

Jasmine implored council to take action and consider installing speed bumps or cameras in the area.

“Do it for my father. Do it for the current and future residents of Clyde and those passing through. No one should have to feel unsafe and unheard in their community.”

Clyde Road has been the site of several other serious collisions, including a single-vehicle crash that sent four teenagers to hospital with serious injuries in 2025.

Just days after the fatal collision on June 15, a driver was stopped travelling along that same stretch of road at 117 km/h despite the 50 km/h speed limit.

Council responds

The delegates presented council with a map of where they would like to see speed bumps and stop signs installed. The map included several suggested speed bumps along Clyde Road, where the deadly collision happened.

The group said speeding and stunt driving are longstanding problems in the area.

“[Drivers are] all speeding,” Brodhagen told CTV News. “And when you tell them to slow down, sometimes you just get [flipped] the bird.”

“We’ve got to stop it. The carnage has to stop,” Brodhagen said.

The motion before council specifically asked for the delegation to be received and for staff to hire an external consultant to do a road study, but council wanted an immediate deterrent in the meantime.

Township staff was asked if any temporary speed bumps were available to help slow down drivers in some of the problem areas. Staff responded that there may be enough material to cover two or three areas. Those speed bumps will be installed on Clyde Road and the nearby Gore Road until next winter.

Ultimately, council voted to receive the delegation, direct staff to hire the consultant and to work with Waterloo Region to ensure the study could extend onto the section of Clyde Road that falls under regional jurisdiction.

The area is a community safety zone and was supposed to get a speed camera there the provincial government scrapped the program.

North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton, who has announced she will not be running in October’s municipal election, urged councillors to take the issue to take the issue back to the province.

“I would hope that this council will approach the province and ask for speed cameras in the rural areas because we are rated the most dangerous areas in all of Waterloo Region,” Foxton said. “There are more fatalities, more car accidents in the townships than anywhere else. It’s cases like this where there have been fatalities, we should be able to justify a speed camera and I hope this council will take that forward in 2027 to the province to make them understand that lives are being lost because we can’t control speeds on these roads and neither can they.”

Police investigation continues

As of Monday evening, charges had not yet been announced following the fatal collision a week prior.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service has asked people living in the Fiddlesticks neighbourhood of Cambridge, North Dumfries and Flamborough to check security and dash camera footage for any video of the black BMW that was involved in the crash.