KITCHENER -- Provincial police say a man is dead after a crash on Highway 8 in Kitchener.
Emergency crews were called to the crash on Highway 8 near Fairway Road shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
The OPP tweeted that a man was outside a broken-down vehicle in a live lane when his vehicle was struck by another driver.
Police say the 57-year-old Kitchener resident died from his injuries. On Wednesday afternoon, officials identified him as Beyne Gebremichael.
"I don't have the exact details on why (the car) was stalled, but it was in a live lane and the driver was outside the vehicle at the time," Acting Sgt. Dan Hunter said in a phone interview with CTV News. "If your vehicle is disabled, you want to be inside of it, that is by far the safest place to be. You don't want to be outside of your vehicle on foot, on a live roadway. It's just extremely dangerous."
Police say that the driver of the second vehicle tried to swerve but was unable to get out of the way in time.
Ornge and OPP confirmed to CTV News that a 20-year-old female patient, who was a passenger in the second vehicle, was taken to Hamilton General Hospital. Her injuries were initially considered serious but they were slightly downgraded by Wednesday morning.
"Luckily we got some good news on that, that the females injuries have been downgraded in hospital," Hunter said. "So, they are appearing somewhat less severe than they were initially which is great news."
Officials say it's too early to tell why the vehicle wasn't able to swerve out of the way.
"There could be any reason why this vehicle wasn't able to get around. I'm not suggesting that the driver was distracted, I simply don't know at this point, but it is possible. It is possible, and it just highlights the important for anyone with a broken down vehicle or a vehicle that's having some mechanical problems, you've got to get it stopped in a safe spot," Hunter said during an interview on Wednesday.
"Being in a live lane, you're a sitting duck, you're waiting for something to go wrong behind you and somebody to come through and not be able to stop."
Westbound lanes of the highway remained closed for several hours while police investigated.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. They're also looking for dash cam video from anyone who may have it.
Correction:
A previous version of this article said the crash happened on Highway 7/8. In fact, while a Highway 7/8 ramp was closed as a result, the crash actually happened on Highway 8.
