Two dead in fiery Hwy. 401 crash in Pickering that caused multiple explosions

Two people are dead after a fiery multi-vehicle crash caused multiple explosions late Tuesday and shut down Highway 401 in both directions near the Pickering-Ajax border.

Durham Regional Police Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss said various emergency services were dispatched to Highway 401 at Brock Road at around 10:30 p.m. after receiving reports a fuel-tanker truck, a transport truck and a passenger vehicle crashed.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said a fuel-tanker was travelling eastbound when it lost control and hit the concrete median, rupturing, and then bursting into flames. The truck ended up in the westbound lanes causing a massive fireball as the transport truck and the passenger vehicle passed through the flames.

The driver of the tanker and transport truck were both pronounced dead at the scene. The two occupants of the passenger vehicle were able to stop and escape the explosion without injuries.

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“There were reports of explosions happening an hour after the collision,” Schmidt said while speaking with Breakfast Television Wednesday morning.

“We have massive damage to the infrastructure, the highway, the bridge, the lighting….and the highway itself.”

During an update Wednesday afternoon on Twitter, he echoed those concerns while urging commuters to find alternate routes Wednesday afternoon and evening.

“We are still waiting on the assessment from the ministry of transportation regarding the bridge, highway, roads, lighting and infrastructure damage, and what needs to be done before the highways can be reopen,” Schmidt said.

“You can see the bridge behind me how it’s been scorched black as a result of the fire that lasted several hours last night.”

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As part of the cleanup Wednesday afternoon, crews could be seen in an OPP video removing a large highway light with the assistance of a crane. A follow-up post appeared to show the force of the explosions causing nearby catch basin covers to blow up from the ground.

Schmidt said due to the intensity of the fire, emergency crews weren’t able to get close to the vehicles involved until crews could get the flames under control.

At the time of the fire, Durham Regional Police officers encouraged residents near Brock Road and Highway 401 to keep windows and doors closed due to thick smoke from the scene.

The eastbound express lanes of Highway 401 are closed between Meadowvale Road and Brock, the eastbound collectors are closed at Brock Road.  All westbound lanes are shut down from Westney Road to Brock because of the incident.

Police said Brock Road between Pickering Parkway and Plumber Street was also closed as part of the ongoing investigation.

As of Wednesday night, the Ministry of Transportation was still assessing the condition of the overpass, road surface and other infrastructure and could not say if the highway would be open in time for the Thursday morning commute.

GO Transit says it will be adding extra train service both eastbound and westbound at Whitby on Thursday.

Two people confirmed dead-both truck drivers. People in car also caught in fire managed to escape unharmed. This is what’s left of the fuel truck. The road, median and underside of overpass all blackened and possibly damaged pic.twitter.com/CCJpOM3ouw

— carl hanstke (@carlCityNews) June 21, 2023

Witnesses describe massive fireball, explosion on Highway 401

Several witnesses described large flames that could be seen in the eastbound and westbound lanes of Highway 401.

Eli, a truck driver who happened to be walking across the Brock Road overpass at the time of the explosion, told CityNews 680 he was on top of the bridge when he heard a loud sound and felt vibrations before witnessing a large ball of fire shooting up from the highway. He said a piece of metal from the truck explosion flew over his head.

“Both sides of the bridge was fire,” Eli said.

“It was like night turned to day. Everything became bright.”

Footage from Ontario Ministry of Transportation cameras and posts on social media captured the force of the impact. Videos showed a large ball of fire going into the air.

“It was a monstrous fireball, I’ve never seen anything like it,” another caller on the highway at the time told the CityNews 680 newsroom.

A second witness left a voicemail describing the crash in detail.

????The 401 will remain closed for hours to come as extensive repairs will need to be completed at Brock Road.

Overhead view from Chopper 680 ????

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— CityNews Toronto Traffic & Weather (@citynews680) June 21, 2023

“Two trucks collided, one came flipping over our vehicle,” the caller recounted.

“A ball of flame came over and hit the truck behind us, which exploded as well. A massive fireball, it’s just a disaster.”

Meanwhile, Eli said he was working at the time and had parked his truck on one side of Highway 401 and was walking over to a nearby Walmart to get lights. He noted he has seen plenty of vehicle fires before having worked as a truck driver for the last eight years, but nothing compared to Tuesday night’s explosion.

“I have never ever seen anything remotely close to this. I’ve been in shock all night,” Eli said.

“It’s not something that I would wish on anybody. I wish I didn’t see what I saw.”