At least two people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a collision involving seven vehicles on Highway 401 near Weston Road.
The multi-vehicle collision happened in the eastbound express lanes of the highway at around 11:30 a.m., forcing an hours-long closure of the eastbound express lanes.
According to Ontario Provincial Police, the crash involved two transport trucks, a cube van and multiple passenger vehicles.
Initial reports from the scene indicated that one person was trapped in a vehicle crushed between two transport trucks. OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said in fact, two people suffered critical injuries.
“Two people have been taken to hospital with critical injuries,” Schmidt said during a Periscope from the scene. “Fortunately there no fatalities at this time, but two people in hospital with very serious injuries. There were minor injuries to a few other drivers but nothing too serious to anyone else.”
None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, he added.
All eastbound express lanes of the highway are closed at Islington Avenue, OPP said. The closure is expected to last until about midnight.
Schmidt said there is "a lot to clean up" on the expansive scene.
“It’s a big mess out there,” he said. “Initially we thought there would be much more smooth type of recovery and clean up.”
“Once we got to investigating the vehicles and discovered how much damage there was, they weren’t able to be easily towed from the scene and extra equipment had to be brought in.”
Schmidt added that officers will be looking into driver inattention and mechanical error as possible causes for the crash.
He also warned about significant traffic delays in the area in both directions.
