Stretch of Highway 401 in Pickering reopens after deadly crash, massive fire leaves 2 dead
CBC
A stretch of Highway 401 in Pickering has reopened after a fiery crash caused a massive fireball and left two truck drivers dead on Tuesday.
Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, spokesperson for the Ontario's Provincial Police (OPP) highway safety division, says the highway has reopened Thursday morning for traffic in both directions, although some lane closures remain.
"There are still a few repairs that need to be made on some of the ramps," Schmidt said.
On Wednesday, police said a tanker truck crashed and "exploded into a fireball" on the highway near Brock Road at around 10:30 p.m. the night before, causing damage to the roadway, an overpass and catch basins in the area.
Schmidt said the westbound lanes at Westney Road were open to traffic Thursday morning after being shut down for a day. The eastbound collector's lanes have partially re-opened while the express lanes are expected to reopen later in the day, as repairs are ongoing for storm sewers affected by the explosions.
Crews were working on grinding and repaving westbound lanes overnight. He said the Brock Road overpass has passed a structural integrity test and will reopen Thursday.
OPP initially warned drivers that closures in the area will take time as the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) inspects the highway.
Police said Thursday that the on-scene portion of their investigation has ended, but the ministry remains on scene.
"The MTO is assessing the condition of the overpass, road surface, and other infrastructure," OPP said in a tweet Thursday morning.
"Morning traffic may still be affected. Plan for alternate routes."
Schmidt said that it is believed that a tanker truck was travelling east on the highway Tuesday night when the driver lost control.
The driver struck the centre concrete wall and rolled into the westbound lanes, rupturing the truck's tank and resulting in the spill of "highly flammable" liquid across the highway, he said.
The fires ultimately consumed the truck along with another transport truck and a passenger vehicle that were travelling west at the time of the crash.
The drivers of the transport trucks were pronounced dead at the scene while the occupants of the passenger vehicle escaped the crash without serious injury, investigators said.
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