Neighbours honour OPP officer killed in crash along with school bus ...

THORNDALE – Dozens of homes in this town northeast of London are decorated with blue and golden ribbons to pay homage to a local OPP officer killed in a crash this week that also claimed the life of a school bus driver.

Published May 31, 2023  •  2 minute read

Mark Glasier is among dozens of Thorndale residents who fastened blue ribbons to their homes in honour of OPP Det.-Const. Steven Tourangeau. The Thorndale resident and father to three sons was killed in a crash with a school bus near Woodstock on Monday May 29, 2023. (Dale Carruthers/The London Free Press)

THORNDALE – Dozens of homes in this town northeast of London are decorated with blue and golden ribbons to pay homage to a local OPP officer killed in a crash this week that also claimed the life of a school bus driver.

Neighbours organized the ribbon campaign – symbolizing the OPP’s dark blue uniforms with gold lettering and shoulder flashes – to show their support for the Tourangeau family. 

Det.-Const. Steven Tourangeau, 35, died Monday after his unmarked police vehicle and a school bus collided at the rural intersection of Oxford Road 33 and Highway 59, northwest of Woodstock, around 7 a.m. Bus driver David James Stewart, 71, also was killed.  

The ribbons have been fastened on homes, trees and light posts across Thorndale, where Tourangeau lived with his wife, Danikah, and three young sons.  

“Our community lost a very admirable, caring and wonderful member,” one ribbon-campaign organizer identified as Lindsay Marie said on Facebook.   

Some neighbours left baskets of ribbons outside their homes for others to use. Black and yellow ribbons also were distributed to symbolize the colours of a school bus in honour of Stewart, a retired mechanic and father of four.    

Mark Glasier, who lives on the same block at the Tourangeau family, hung the ribbons outside his house.  

“It’s a sign of support. It feels like the least we can do,” he said Wednesday.  

Another nearby home displayed a hockey jersey on its front ledge as a symbol of remembrance. Tourangeau was a talented hockey player who played on a London-area hockey team for the last few years, one teammate said. 

“He was a fantastic guy. He was a quiet guy, but always great to have,” Brad Howard said. 

Tourangeau was a former player and coach with the Tecumseh Shoreline Minor Hockey Association, the organization wrote on social media. “Our hearts go out to the entire Tourangeau family during this difficult time,” the post said.  

Tourangeau worked in the Huron-Perth street crime unit before landing a spot in the organized crime bureau, a joint forces unit made up of OPP members and officers from other police forces across the province. He was working his first day in his new role on the day he died.  

No decision has been announced on a police funeral for Tourangeau – the sixth Ontario police officer killed in the line-of-duty since last year.  

An online fundraiser for the Tourangeau family has raised nearly $54,000 since it was launched Monday. 

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