Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is “reviewing winter maintenance operations” after a tragic crash on the expressway that resulted in the death of a woman from Waterloo on Monday.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by these incidents,” said the MTO in response to a request from 570 News Radio.
A 38-year-old woman from Waterloo was driving on the southbound ramp from Highway 7 West to the eastbound lanes of Highway 8 when she lost control, hit a snow bank, went over a concrete barrier, and fell onto the highway below. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ontario Provincial Police officers who arrived at the scene mentioned that road conditions, particularly the snow piled up on the shoulder of the ramp, contributed to her vehicle being launched onto the highway below.
“The snow and road conditions obviously played a factor in this collision, and we’re going to continue to work with road maintenance contractors and MTO to make sure that situation is remedied,” stated OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt in an afternoon post after the incident.
In light of this incident, MTO has indicated they are “reviewing winter maintenance operations at the time of the incidents and will review findings of police investigation, when available.”
The woman’s vehicle was actually the second one to fall off that ramp early Monday morning.
At around 2 a. m., a taxi cab also dropped from the expressway ramp onto the highway below, landing on its roof and injuring its driver. Following this incident, authorities closed off access to that ramp for an investigation; however, snow removal did not take place before it reopened around 5 a. m.
After the fatal accident at 7:30 a. m., snow removal crews were called in, leading to over 12 hours of closure for that stretch of roadway on Monday.
The flyover was cleared and reopened just in time for Tuesday morning traffic.
570 News Radio has reached out to OPP for further comments regarding this ongoing situation.
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