A baffling display of driving was caught on video late last week, with a driver carting a load of wood on the QEW with the rear doors of their car wide open. In a video posted on Facebook by David Fafinski, the driver can be seen on the highway near the Red Hill Valley Parkway, heading toward the Burlington Skyway bridge. In addition to the open back doors poking into adjoining lanes, the car's trunk is also propped open, with what looks like a piece of furniture sticking out. Warning: video contains coarse language OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CBC News that he saw the video for the first time Tuesday morning. "That's an unsafe vehicle there. Doors open — who knows what could come flying out of there," he said. "That's not anything you ever expect to see on the highway. "It's just straight out ridiculous." Schmidt said it's not the first time he's seen something like this on a highway in the area. He once stopped the driver of a two-door sport coupe who was carting a couch with a door hanging open, held down only by a seatbelt, he said. It's unclear if the driver in this incident will face any ramifications. Schmidt said it's difficult to make out the vehicle's licence plate in the video, and he didn't know if the incident was previously reported to police. adam.carter@cbc.ca<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they are not pursuing a driver caught on video last week, travelling down the QEW in Hamilton with their car doors wide open. A video posted by Facebook user David Fafinski shows the sedan cruising down the busy roadway with pieces of some sort of disassembled wood product, which appears to stick out the vehicle’s rear side doors. The car seemed to be heading onto the off-ramp to Nikola Tesla Blvd. READ MORE: Hamilton cyclist stopped for ‘improper lighting’ faces weapons charge OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, who saw the video Tuesday morning, told Global News Radio, the act is simply ‘unsafe’, ‘irresponsible’ and ‘just crazy.’ “It’s certainly not the way to do it, and had there been a collision or had someone gotten hurt, you know this would be just a huge liability on that person,” said Schmidt. Story continues below advertisement “People aren’t expecting a vehicle with doors open sitting beside them. You look in the mirror and you see a headlight in front of you and you don’t realize that doors are wide open on this car.” Schmidt went on to say he’s unaware of any report to police, so OPP are not investigating at this time. When asked what potential charges one could face for such a stunt, Schmidt suggested a range of charges could be laid under the Highway Traffic Act. READ MORE: Norfolk OPP seek suspects after fully assembled kitchen stolen “There are all sorts of vehicle violations in terms of how low your basic width of the vehicle, the visibility of the vehicle, insecure cargo, carelessness or even the possible danger of someone operating a motor vehicle in this condition.” When asked if he’s ever seen anything like this before, the OPP veteran said “yes.” “I’ve certainly seen drivers taking chances and liberties by hauling cargo,” Schmidt said. “You know, moving furniture and a coachout of their convertible and things that are just, again, head-shaking.” WATCH: Fire at Toronto school prompts evacuations in area 2:24 Fire at Toronto school prompts evacuations in area Fire at Toronto school prompts evacuations in area – May 7, 2019<doc-sep>Ontario Provincial Police are trying to find the driver of a car that triggered a lot of double-takes on the QEW near the Burlington Skyway last week. Video shows a driver carrying a load of wood in a four-door Sedan with the rear doors of the car wide open and the wood stretching across the width of the car. Sgt. Kerry Schmidt tells 680 NEWS the driver was likely breaking several laws. “This is dangerous,” he said. “This is an over-width, careless driving, insecure load … you are compromising the vehicle safety, you can’t see outside your mirrors when you’re looking out the side mirrors as well … lots of issues to be addressed.” The video was posted on Facebook by David Fafinski. It shows the back doors creeping into the other lanes and the car’s trunk propped open. Schmidt says unfortunately you can’t clearly see the licence plate, making tracking down the owner difficult. If you know anything, contact the O.P.P.<doc-sep>Hamilton police say a burgundy car seen in an online video being driven on a highway with its rear doors open has been tied to a series of break-and-enters. They say a detective recognized the car in the clip that appears to show the vehicle carrying goods that are sticking out of its back doors on the Queen Elizabeth Way. Police say they were investigating a break-and-enter on April 13 around 6 a.m. and examined video of an older burgundy vehicle driving inside the compound of a business in Hamilton after a man and woman allegedly pried the gates open. They allege 450 kilograms of steel was stolen. They say the detective watched the viral video on Tuesday, in which the licence plate of the car is visible, and linked it to the break-and-enter case. On Thursday, police charged a 42-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman with one count each of break and enter, and seized a 1991 Chevrolet Lumina.<doc-sep>
Hamilton police say they have made a connection between a viral video of a car driving on the QEW with its doors open carting a load of wood, and a series of break-ins in the city. On Tuesday CBC News reported that a person was driving on the QEW with the rear doors of their car wide open after it was caught on video and posted on Facebook. In a video posted on Facebook by David Fafinski, the driver can be seen on the highway near the Red Hill Valley Parkway, heading toward the Burlington Skyway bridge. In addition to the open back doors poking into adjoining lanes, the car's trunk is also propped open, with what looks like a piece of furniture sticking out. Warning: video contains coarse language Police say thanks to that video and reporting, an officer identified the car as one involved in a series of break and enters. On Thursday, police say they went to a home on Bow Valley Drive and took the vehicle. As a result, they say a 42-year-old man and 42-year old woman, both from Hamilton have been charged with break and enter. Break and enters Police say the first break and enter incident was April 13 when a video captured an older style burgundy vehicle parked at the gates of a commercial business on Brockley Drive. A man and woman were seen driving inside the compound, according to police, after prying the gate open. While inside, police say 1000 pounds of bulk steel with an estimated value of $3,000 was stolen. Then on April 22, shortly after 4:30 p.m., the same car and people failed a second attempt to get into the same area. Hamilton police seized a red Chevrolet Lumina from a Bow Valley Drive address in Hamilton. It's the same car that was caught on video driving on the QEW with the rear doors of their car wide open with a load of wood hanging out the back doors of their car, and what appears to be furniture sticking out of the trunk. (Hamilton Police Service) Police say a detective saw the viral video posted on Facebook and was able to tie the car to April break and enters. The man and woman were brought into custody with their bail opposed. After CBC News ran the original story, Facebook user Jonathan Sutherland sent in photos of what looks like the same car, doing the same thing, in the exact same area of the highway — except this time, carrying what looks like a steel beam in the back. Sutherland said the photos were taken on April 11, which is exactly three weeks before the second incident occurred.