Man dead, 11 in hospital after Highway 11 pileup in Orillia

OPP Acting Sgt. Jake Daynes says a 49-year-old is dead and dozens are in hospital after a pileup on Highway 11 in Orillia.,

A 49-year-old man is dead, and 11 others are in hospital after whiteout conditions in Orillia Friday morning triggered a multi-vehicle pileup on Highway 11.

The crash occurred at the Highway 12 overpass near Memorial Avenue just before 9:30 a.m. as snow squall warnings were in effect for the city and surrounding areas.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Acting Sgt. Jake Daynes said at least 10 vehicles were involved in the collision.

“As this investigation is ongoing, this number could be more or less, but I can confirm that it was a multi-vehicle collision,” Daynes said.

The man, who was from Brampton, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His identity has not been released.

Meanwhile, Daynes would only say that those hospitalized had “various injuries.”

Stranded motorists were put on buses to keep them warm. They were later taken to Rotary Place Arena, located at 100 University Avenue in Orillia, which was used as a warming centre.

“We have paramedics over there as well. So, to deal with shock or to assist with anything – cuts, scrapes, whatever might be going on,” Daynes told CTV News Toronto.

The cause of the collision is unknown, but poor visibility and whiteout conditions were reported on the roads at the time.

Orillia Fire Chief Chris Ferry told CTV News Barrie that tow trucks were at the crash site, removing vehicles that ended up in the ditch.

ROAD CLOSURES

Just after 7 p.m., police said all vehicles had been removed from the highway. But they noted that there was still debris that needed to be cleaned up before the highway could fully reopen.

Shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday, police confirmed all lanes on the highway reopened.

“We’re really suggesting that people remain off the roadways unless it’s absolutely necessary for them to be travelling today,” Daynes said.

The City of Orillia declared a significant weather event Friday afternoon “to alert the community that the current extreme weather conditions could pose a danger to users of city roads, sidewalks and bike lanes.”

The snow squall warning issued for the city has been lifted. According to the city, more than 40 centimetres of snow fell between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.

MOTORIST RECOUNTS COLLISION

Robert Kowalski, who was among the motorists who got stuck in the pileup, told CTV News Barrie he was able to slow down in time after seeing brake lights ahead.

He said he was lucky his car wasn’t hit. However, Kowalski shared that he witnessed several collisions, including one involving a pickup truck that smashed into a gravel truck.

Kowalski said there was also a chain-reaction crash behind him, saying a stopped car was hit by vehicles that couldn’t brake in time. He added he also witnessed a car that went sideways, hit a guardrail, and crash into another vehicle.

Kowalski said the crash happened 10 minutes after he left his house at 9 a.m. He added that emergency vehicles had a tough time getting to the scene due to the number of vehicles involved, which he estimates was between 30 and 40.

“No one knew what to do,” he said. “Everyone stayed in their cars.”

Kowalski said it wasn’t until two to three hours later that police informed motorists to abandon their vehicles as they were being transported to the Rotary Place. He remembered climbing over two guardrails to get on a city bus.

Police are asking for the public’s assistance as the investigation gets underway, and anyone with information or video footage is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

with files from CTV News Barrie