Learning more about one of the victims of Sunday’s fatal crash in Hamilton

The former wife of one of the victims killed in Sunday’s fatal crash in Corktown spoke with CHCH News about the tragedy.

Hamilton police say 57-year-old John Wignall and 38-year-old Ryan Valentim were killed as passengers by an impaired driver. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) continues to investigate what led up to the collision.

A grief-stricken Pam Mulholland stepped in to help run the bar Wignall had purchased during the pandemic in 2020. “He was a larger-than-life person, to have him gone is hard to reconcile,” Mulholland said.

Wignall’s ex-spouse says he had big dreams when he bought Legends Grill on Greenhill Avenue, a sports bar filled with memorabilia and a strong local customer base.

Hamilton police say Wignall and Valentim from Hamilton were killed after a vehicle t-boned the car they were in at John Street and Young Street.

“I know he was in a Uber with a friend, not drinking and driving, and were hit by a drunk driver. It’s not right,” Mulholland said.

The SIU is investigating the incident and says there was an “interaction” between a Hamilton police officer and a man driving erratically on John Street shortly before 11 p.m.

The SIU added the vehicle fled northbound where it collided with the other vehicle on Young Street. The driver was sent to hospital with serious injuries and charged 20-year-old Mouhamad Al Jalmoud with impaired driving causing death.

Mulholland says she and John were together for nearly 25 years, he was a proud family man and dreamed of franchising the business.

Muholland adds Wignall was a former skater with the Ice Capades and Disney on Ice.

Today CHCH News ask the SIU about what happened in that interaction between the charged and the Hamilton officer before the crash and they say that is still under investigation.