Street Racing Suspected Behind Fatal Crash That Shut Hwy 400
Posted June 18, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A truck driver is being hailed a hero after apparently sacrificing his own life to save others during terrible crash that shut down Highway 400 in both directions near Barrie Monday. Both lanes have now reopened.
The truck driver was killed after he swerved to avoid crashing into several cars.
“I saw him coming across the highway into my lane in slow motion and then veering back, yet it all took like probably 5 seconds,” recalled Jane Lennox .
“I’m so thankful to God that he spared us and I’m so sorry that this man lost his life in an attempt to miss us and miss others.”
Police say the truck wound up in the ditch spilling fuel all over the highway. The driver, a man in his 50s from Innisfil Ont., died instantly.
The incident is being blamed on racing and two men in their 20s were arrested and charged with dangerous driving causing death.
“They were veering from lane to lane. They just didn’t seem to care,” recalled David Trudel.
“I think it’s horrible, you know, that there’s people driving at 180 trying to beat everybody else who is in front of them…and innocent people end up paying the price,” adds Sgt. Cam Woolley .
Police were looking for a third “person of interest,” and they tracked him down on Monday night. He’s also facing charges.
With the stretch of highway closed, drivers were stranded for hours, and it all happened on the exact same stretch of highway where a crash Saturday sent 11 people to hospital.
Frustration over being rerouted may have caused a road rage-related stabbing.
Two men fought on Canal Road near the 400 after one apparently cut off the other. One was stabbed and airlifted to a Toronto hospital with a life-threatening wound. There no update yet on his condition. The other driver’s in custody.
