Former Woolwich councillor and Elmira realtor Allan Poffenroth has died as a result of injuries from a three-vehicle collision east of Palmerston on Wednesday. He was 68.
The crash happened at the intersection of Wellington County Rd. 8 and Wellington County Rd. 9 in Mapleton Township around 2:42 p.m. on August 19.
Poffenroth was the driver and lone occupant of the vehicle. He was transported by Guelph-Wellington Emergency Medical Services to a local hospital then airlifted to Hamilton General Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. A man in a tractor-trailer was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries, and the driver of the third vehicle was not injured, according to Wellington County OPP.
Members from the OPP Technical Collision Investigation Team are continuing to investigate.
Poffenroth served one four-year term as councillor for Ward 1 in Woolwich township from 2010-2014. He ran again last year, but was not re-elected. He was the longtime owner of Coach House Realty with business partner Paul Robb. He was the owner and landlord of a variety of Elmira properties.
Tom Hendrick, one of the founding members of the Elmira Kiwanis Club, says Poffenroth will be remembered for his community work.
“He was a Kiwanis member for over 20 years. His major goal was tree planting in the town of Elmira. He headed that committee up for at least the last five years. He was in the music festival and in fact he headed that up for at least five years or longer,” Hendrick said.
Poffenroth brought the idea of a tree-planting project to the Elmira Kiwanis Club in 2010. Since then the club has planted trees every spring and fall.
“He grew up in Elmira and he was a community-minded spirit. He was always looking to make Elmira a better place,” Hendrick said.
