A fatal wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Pickering early Sunday morning led to a second serious collision hours later, injuring two police officers and another driver.
Ontario Provincial Police say the first incident occurred around 2:40 a.m. in the eastbound collector lanes near Westney Road. A pickup truck travelling westbound in the eastbound lanes collided with a passenger vehicle, killing the 38-year-old driver at the scene. The 41-year-old pickup driver was arrested and charged with impaired and dangerous driving causing death.
While officers were managing the scene, a second crash happened around 4:30 a.m. A vehicle drove through traffic barricades near Brock Road and struck the rear of a police cruiser that was positioned to help divert traffic. The cruiser had been parked alongside a Ministry of Transportation support truck as part of the road closure setup.
Two officers and the 52-year-old driver of the vehicle were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The Special Investigations Unit has launched a probe into this second collision, assigning investigators to examine the circumstances.
The incidents prompted widespread lane closures along the eastbound side of Highway 401 at Whites Road for several hours. The highway later fully reopened.