Truck driver charged in Hwy. 401 crash that pushed car into guardrail
Posted January 31, 2020 10:54 am.
Last Updated January 31, 2020 10:58 am.
A 50-year-old Whitby truck driver has been charged after a dramatic crash that was caught on video last month.
The 12-second video of the incident — which the OPP said happened just before 2 p.m. on Jan. 13 — showed a large truck, which appeared to be a stone slinger, pushing a four-door vehicle across two active lanes of the highway until the car hits the guardrail and settles on the shoulder.
As the vehicle hit the guardrail, the car’s brake lights went on and the large truck veered back into the live lane of traffic.
The impact of the car getting squeezed between the truck and the guardrail was enough to cause the car’s back bumper to fall off.
The driver of the car was not injured.
OPP said the driver of the truck told police he didn’t see what was happening in front of him as he was changing lanes and ended up pushing that car off the shoulder.
“He told OPP that he was not aware that he had struck the car. He thought something had struck his tire. Passing motorists had signaled him about the car. He pulled over and stayed at the scene,” OPP Const. Taylor Konkle said the day after the crash happened.
On Friday, police charged the truck driver with careless driving.
