A tragic crash Tuesday night took the lives of two individuals on Highway 401, located east of Toronto in Pickering, Ont. Police have not yet determined when this important stretch will be open to traffic again.
The accident involved two transport trucks and a passenger vehicle, resulting in an explosion and fire that engulfed all three vehicles near Brock Road around 10:30 p. m., according to Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, who serves as the spokesperson for Ontario’s Provincial Police highway safety division.
Schmidt mentioned that one of the transport trucks was loaded with “highly flammable fuel” when it lost control. The truck hit the center wall of an overpass and overturned onto the other side of the highway, rupturing its tanks and creating a “massive fireball,” he explained.
Another transport truck traveling westbound collided with the trailers and was subsequently consumed by flames, he added.
“It’s a highly flammable derivative of a diesel camping fuel oil; it’s a dangerous good [that’s] highly flammable, and we saw the outcome and results of that last night,” Schmidt told reporters at the scene Wednesday.
“[Gas] from the fuel tanker truck was leaking and burning; it was actually going down into catch basins, which also caused explosions in the sewer system.”
Both drivers from the transport trucks were found without vital signs and pronounced dead at the scene, said Schmidt.
The driver and passenger in the third vehicle escaped without injuries during the explosion and fire, he noted.
The OPP later shared video footage showing manhole covers being blown off due to explosive gases in sewers.
Engineers Assessing Damage
Schmidt indicated that fire damage occurred to the Brock Road overpass, though its severity is still unknown.
The OPP stated that Ministry of Transportation engineers are evaluating both the highway and overpass to see if they were structurally compromised by this incident.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, officials said they are exploring “all available options for an emergency detour to keep people and goods moving along this critical highway.”
The ministry is still assessing damages while using one eastbound collector lane for detours.
“Once we know more about how bad it is, we’ll provide a timeline for reopening,” said ministry representatives.
WATCH | Driver says he panicked when he saw a ‘massive fireball’:Driver sees fireball erupt after transport truck carrying fuel crashes on Highway 401Dylan Mohammed shared his panic when driving past as a massive fireball erupted from an accident near Brock Road, east of Toronto.
Hundreds of vehicles were stuck in traffic Tuesday night as a result of this crash,” noted Schmidt.On Wednesday morning, westbound lanes on Highway 401 remained closed from Westney Road in Ajax to Liverpool Road in Pickering.Eastbound traffic is getting through but with significant delays since drivers are being redirected off at Brock Road off-ramp before getting back on via Brock Road on-ramp,” he stated.“Anyone traveling through should plan for alternate routes,” advised Schmidt.The Regional Municipality of Durham informed residents Wednesday afternoon that increased congestion could be expected locally.” Allow extra time while traveling on Durham roads,” their news release urged.“Delays and cancellations may persist throughout today,” they added.
Norm Belley recalled watching television before hearing considerable bang followed by glaring lights flooding into their townhouse. “Very frightening! We jumped up startled looking outside!” she exclaimed.
