Truck driver charged after crashing into slowing traffic on Hwy. 401 in Clarington: OPP

Provincial police say a truck driver is facing a careless driving charge after crashing into slowing traffic in a construction zone on eastbound Highway 401 at Courtice Road in Clarington on Tuesday night.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CityNews a line of traffic had slowed down because of construction ahead when one transport truck collided into the back of another around 11:30 p.m.

“Obviously [the driver] was not aware of changing traffic conditions. Amazingly, just minor injuries to the driver of that truck,” Schmidt said.

The collision resulted in all lanes being blocked on Highway 401 eastbound for about an hour while crews removed the vehicles involved and cleaned up debris.

Transport truck drink driver charged with careless driving after crashing into slowing traffic #Hwy401/Courtice Rd, 11:30pm last night. Fortunately only minor injuries. pic.twitter.com/kyg4i9hkm5

— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) November 2, 2022

The crash happened less than 24 hours after a similar collision on the westbound 401 near Highway 418. OPP say traffic was slowing in the area due to construction when a transport truck crashed into six other vehicles around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. The driver of the transport truck, a 64-year-old man from Pickering, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Related: Man in 60s killed in multi-vehicle pileup on Hwy. 401 in Durham Region

Sgt. Schmidt said it’s worrying to see two crashes happen in such a similar fashion in the same area so close together.

“This is certainly concerning for us when we see two crashes happening almost identically right behind each other … Very similar circumstances and conditions,” Schmidt said.

“The first crash resulted in the loss of life; this one was just minor injuries. But still, certainly the potential for tragic outcomes is very real particularly when transport trucks are involved.”

Drivers should be ready for changing traffic conditions: OPP

Schmidt adds that crashes like these are preventable if drivers pay attention to changing traffic conditions.

“It’s not the construction that is causing these crashes, it’s drivers that aren’t paying attention to the conditions that are changing in front of them. There’s plenty of signage warning drivers of upcoming lane closures and delays and slowdowns,” Schmidt said.

“But when it comes down to it, we can have a slowdown any time, anywhere for a myriad of reasons. And this is so important to remind drivers how incumbent it is upon them to drive accordingly and be prepared to adjust their driving quickly in the event of rapidly changing conditions.”