Ontario Provincial Police have identified a tow truck driver who was killed while helping a motorist near Port Perry on Thursday morning.

Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said that the tow truck was on Highway 12, in between Scugog Line 2 and Scugog Line 3, assisting a stranded motorist who had driven into a ditch in the area.

highway 12, collision

The truck driver was winching the other car out of the ditch when another vehicle lost control and struck him, Schmidt said.

Oshawa resident Beverly Todd Burgess, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Schmidt said that at the time of the incident, the truck was parked on the shoulder of the road and its amber lights were flashing.

“The roads themselves were snow covered, slushy and icy at the time,” Schmidt said "We've got to have people slowing down, driving to the conditions and watching out when you see those amber lights on a tow truck or emergency lights off of a police car, fire truck or ambulance. Slow down as you approach."

There were dozens of crashes across the Greater Toronto Area Thursday morning as residents experienced the first snowfall of the season.