Family of a man killed in crash upset memorial has been taken down

The family of a man killed in a motorcycle crash three years ago is upset that a memorial marking the site of the collision was taken down by the City of St. Catharines.

The crash happened in August of 2015. Two people were killed including Rory Mackenzie, the driver of the motorcycle.

A memorial marked the intersection of 7th street and Third Ave. in St. Catharines since the crash but a month ago, it was taken down city workers.

“The best way to explain it. is he was taken away from us all over again. It’s hard to relive it all over again,” said Shannon Cook, Rory’s sister.

According to city officials, the memorial wasn’t taken down because it was attached to a stop sign or on city property, it was removed for more personal reasons.

“My understanding is that someone who was also involved in the accident drove by that scene on a frequent basis and asked us to remove it because it reminded them of the accident itself,” said Dan Dillon, City of St. Catharines.

A female passenger on the motorcycle was also killed that night. A young woman driving the SUV was taken to hospital and was released shortly after.

The family retrieved the pieces of the memorial from the city and plans to put it up again on nearby private property.

Even though the memorial was taken down following a complaint, the city of St. Catharines actual policy is to allow memorials to stay up as long as they don’t block signs or sight lines.