A serious collision on Highway 401 left one person in critical condition and all westbound lanes of the highway shut down for much of Wednesday morning.
A transport truck and car collided near the westbound exit to southbound Highway 6 around 5 a.m.
“What it looks like happened is that the car was stationary or parked on a live lane of traffic when the transport truck came up from behind and rear-ended the vehicle, sending it off into the ditch,” OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told reporters at the scene.
As the transport truck came to rest, its fuel tanks ruptured, destroying the truck’s cab and spilling fuel across the highway.
#Hwy401 WB at #Hwy6 is closed due to collision. One person to hospital with life threatening injuries. A fire destroyed the CMV. 3-4 hours pic.twitter.com/Ecum3eTCDB
— Sgt Kerry Schmidt (@OPP_HSD) October 11, 2017
Police say two people who were “in or around” the car at the time of the crash were injured. One of them suffered life-threatening injuries, while the other had minor injuries. By Wednesday afternoon, the person in critical condition was expected to survive.
“We’re still trying to determine why the car was on the highway and why it may have been stopped in a live lane,” Schmidt said.
The truck driver was not hurt.
The highway was closed to all westbound traffic at the southbound Highway 6 exit for the rest of the morning for investigation and cleanup. One eastbound lane was also closed for a period of time.
Schmidt said police were hoping to be able to reopen one westbound lane around 1 p.m., while the other two would likely remain closed well into the afternoon.
With reporting by Krista Simpson
