Toronto-bound QEW reopens west of St. Catharines after truck plows into road crew

The Toronto-bound lanes of the QEW have reopened west of St. Catharines after a transport truck plowed into a road crew overnight, sending two people to hospital and shutting down the busy stretch of highway for the morning commute.

Ontario Provincial Police said in a tweet around 1:15 a.m. that the Toronto-bound lanes of the highway were closed from Victoria Avenue to Ontario Street, near Beamsville.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CP24 the collision occurred as maintenance crews were working on the highway.

“There were blocker trucks and vehicles protecting the scene in the left lane and the middle lane and around 12:30 a transport truck plowed into the back of that last sign truck, trapping of the truck driver,” Schmidt said.

The 22-year-old driver of the transport truck was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, Schmidt said.

The impact of the collision also caused the vehicle that was struck to hit a 39-year-old road worker. She was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

“There was a significant diesel spill as well on the highway, which is going to require extensive cleanup as well,” Schmidt said. “There's really debris all across the area.”

The Toronto-bound lanes of the highway were closed for almost 11 hours. They reopened around 11 a.m., Schmidt said.