Fatal crash, apple trailer spill snarls Hwy. 401 traffic during morning rush
Posted July 31, 2023 7:18 am.
Last Updated July 31, 2023 12:02 pm.
A man is dead after two separate collisions on Highway 401 in Toronto that led to major delays during the Monday morning rush.
Two men were taken to hospital following a serious collision around 6:45 a.m. in the westbound express lanes west of Highway 400.
Police tell CityNews an SUV rear-ended a tractor-trailer, injuring both the driver and passenger of the SUV.
The driver was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries where he was pronounced dead. The passenger was also transported with non-life-threatening injuries.
There is no word on what caused the collision.
The westbound 401 express was closed west of Keele Street, with all traffic being forced into the collector lanes. Ther lanes reopened around 10:30 a.m.
????COLLISION: #WB401 express closed approaching the 400 due to a collision.
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— 680 NewsRadio Toronto Traffic & Weather (@NewsRadioTO) July 31, 2023
Apple spill adds to westbound 401 delays
The serious crash happened just beyond a separate issue that was already causing a major headache drivers. A trailer hauling apples saw its side rip open in an overnight single-vehicle collision.
The crash happened in the westbound 401 express lanes at Keele Street around 2:15 a.m. when the trailer struck a median, sending hundreds of apples into live lanes of traffic. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) said a right lane of the express and two left lanes of the collectors were blocked with apple debris.
“There’s still tons of apples on the roadway in both express and collectors,” said CityNews 680 traffic reporter Jordan Kerr who was over the scene in a chopper around 8 a.m. “Right now, they are moving apples from the truck to another truck.”
Crews were called in to scoop the apple debris off the roadway and into the back of a dump truck.
The MTO said they expected the cleanup to take several hours.
Crews cleaning up an apple trailer spill on the westbound 401 near Keele Street in Toronto on July 31, 2023. CITYNEWS/Jordan Kerr
