A 38-year-old person is dead and four people were taken to hospital, including two police officers, after two separate crashes took place in the same area on Highway 401 in Pickering early Sunday morning, said Ontario Provincial Police.
Officers responded around 2:40 a.m. to reports of a crash between a pickup truck and passenger vehicle in the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 near Westney Road, said the OPP in a news release.
The pickup truck was travelling in the wrong direction and going west in the eastbound lanes, OPP spokesperson Taylor Konkle told CBC News.
The driver of the passenger vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene and the pickup truck driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries, he said.
In a news release Sunday afternoon, the OPP said the 41-year-old driver of the pickup truck was charged with dangerous and impaired operation causing death.
Around 4:25 a.m., a separate crash took place in the same area between a passenger vehicle and police cruiser, said the OPP.
The passenger vehicle collided with the rear-end of the cruiser when officers were setting up road closures, said Konkle.
1 person dead, 2 officers injured in separate Highway 401 car crashes in Pickering
Two officers were taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries and the driver of the passenger vehicle was transported for minor injuries.
In a news release Sunday evening, the province’s police watchdog said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the serious injury suffered by a 52-year-old man.
According to the Special Investigations Unit, the Durham Regional Police Service assisted OPP officers in the fatal collision investigation. A police cruiser was parked on the inside left lane and a Ministry of Transportation truck was next to it in the centre lane.
Road barricades were set up at an angle behind these vehicles to divert eastbound traffic off the highway and onto Brock Road. However, an eastbound vehicle drove through the barricades and struck the rear of the police cruiser, the SIU said.
According to the province’s police watchdog, the two officers were released from hospital with minor injuries.
The SIU investigates incidents involving police and civilians that have resulted in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault.
All eastbound lanes of Highway 401 at Whites Road were closed for the ongoing investigation, but have since reopened.
The eastbound collector lanes of Highway 401 at Brock Road in Pickering were also closed, but have since reopened, Konkle said.
Police urge anyone who witnessed the collision or has dashcam footage to contact the OPP or Crime Stoppers.
