A fatal two-vehicle collision on Highway 7/8 east of New Hamburg closed the road in both directions on Wednesday morning.
OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford says "It appears, according to witness statements at this time that the Dodge Dakota crossed over into the eastbound lanes striking the cube van. The cube van then rolled onto its roof."
The crossover crash occurred around 9 a.m. east of Nafziger Road, in the area where there is no longer a median between the east and westbound lanes.
The driver of the yellow pickup, which was severely damaged, had to be freed from the vehicle by emergency crews.
An air ambulance was initially called in, but soon left the scene without a patient.
Woodford says "The driver of the Dodge Dakota, male, from the Kitchener area is all I know right now, he's been pronounced deceased here at the scene. There were two occupants in the cube van and I've been told no injuries sustained by those two."
The expressway was closed in both directions between Nafziger Road and Foundry Street as emergency crews dealt with the wreckage.
Traffic congestion was worsened when a truck that was attempting to turn around and avoid the crash scene jackknifed.
But local residents say there's no good reason for a collision in that area.
Bill Goddard says "It's open, it's straight, it's flat. There would be no reason that I could see why anyone would get into that kind of trouble."
Bernie Shantz says while there is no longer a median at that point on the highway, "There can be some congestion there, but I don't understand how things like this can happen, it's got to be human error."
The roadway reopened around 2 p.m. after police concluded their investigation into the crash.
