A crash on Highway 7 claimed the life of a 21-year-old man and closed a section of the road between Kitchener and Guelph for several hours as police investigated.
Police say the two vehicles collided near Greenhouse Road just before 6 p.m. on Thursday evening.
OPP Const. Linda Wolf says "A pickup truck travelling eastbound on Highway 7 and a Chevy Cavalier was travelling westbound. For unknown reasons at this time the two vehicles collided head on, on the roadway."
The driver of the Chevy was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The name of the deceased is not being released until next of kin has been notified.
The driver of the pickup, a 48-year-old male, was removed from his vehicle by firefighters and transported to Guelph Memorial Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. There were no passengers.
No charges have yet been laid but witnesses who might have seen anything leading up to the collision are asked to contact Cambridge OPP at 519-654-0150.
Safety of two-lane highway debated
Many people who travel that route and spoke with CTV News weren't surprised to hear about the crash and say two lanes isn't enough for the volume of traffic.
The latest accident is in fact just the latest in a long list of crashes on Highway 7, a stretch of road where safety and functionality have been in question for decades.
Perry Grobe runs Grobe's Nursery and Garden Centre near the intersection where the crash happened. He says he's been asking for a traffic light for a long time.
"It seems that they get worse as time goes on…We currently direct all our customers around the back way just so that they don't have to make that terrible turn there at the corner."
He's worried about his customers taking risks, especially at this festive time of year.
But in an email Karen Crawford, the communications coordinator for Ministry of Transportation West Region, says there are no changes planned.
"Based on the most recent traffic data, the Ministry has no current plans to install traffic signals at the Highway 7 and Greenhouse Road intersection…We will continue to monitor the safe operation of this highway and identify improvements as the need arises."
The initial design phase for expansion of the highway is underway though, Crawford says, and $40 million and staffing has been committed.
"This project will be considered as part of the future Southern Highways Program, based on provincial priorities and available funding."
However, all the land required for the expansion has not yet been purchased, so there is no firm timeline.
Regional chair Ken Seiling says the faster the Ministry can build the new highway the better.
While there is no guarantee an expansion will stop the frequency of fatal collisions, many say it will make the trip from Guelph to Kitchener safer.
