Deadly crash results in partial rush hour closure of major Toronto highway

A man is dead after a three-vehicle collision on the Gardiner Expressway that resulted in a lengthy closure, clogging traffic on the highway during Tuesday’s afternoon rush.

Toronto police said the collision occurred around 2:17 p.m. in the westbound lanes of the Gardiner near Spadina Avenue.

A 50-year-old man was driving a red and white dump truck when he suffered an unknown medical emergency and struck a white sedan and a silver dump trailer, police said.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the trucks caught fire as a result of the collision but it was quickly contained, police said.

Traffic is shown backed up on the Gardiner Expressway on Tuesday afternoon following a deadly crash. (CP24)

The fire was quickly contained, Toronto Fire said. The cause of the collision is not yet known.

The crash happened just ahead of the busy afternoon rush.

All westbound lanes of the Gardiner were closed at York Street because of the crash. The Jarvis and York ramps to the westbound Gardiner were also closed.

Aerial images showed a long stretch of vehicles at a standstill on the heavily trafficked highway. At least one stuck vehicle could be seen trying to turn around on the busy highway.

Heavy equipment was being brought in to remove the dump trucks.

The westbound lanes and the ramps reopened at 6 p.m.

A vehicle appears to turn around on the WB Gardiner Expressway in an attempt to avoid a significant traffic backlog. (CP24)

The southbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway were closed at the Bayview/Bloor exit in order to ensure that the backlog of stuck drivers did not grow. The DVP reopened shortly before 5 p.m.

The effect of the lengthy closure spilled onto downtown roadways. The TTC said all its downtown surface routes were experiencing significant delays due to the Gardiner collision.

Police close off a stretch of the westbound Gardiner Expressway following a collision involving two dump trucks near Spadina Avenue Tuesday June 11, 2024.