Two individuals were hospitalized following an incident where a vehicle rear-ended a Ministry of Transportation (MTO) crash truck on Highway 401 near Woodstock, Ont., on Monday afternoon. The collision occurred around 2 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 at Tower Line Road, as reported by the Ontario Provincial Police.
According to authorities, the crash truck was stationary in the left lane while road maintenance crews were repairing the highway when it was struck from behind by a car. The driver of the car sustained injuries of unspecified severity and was taken to the hospital, while the operator of the crash truck was also transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
Sgt. Ed Sanchuk of the OPP’s West Region mentioned that it appeared the vehicle collided with the crash truck at highway speed. In a video shared on social media from the scene, Sanchuk advised the public to be vigilant of their surroundings and emphasized the importance of yielding to large trucks, especially those indicating with arrows.
Road maintenance crews informed the police that they had witnessed drivers attempting to overtake work vehicles on the left, forcing them into the emergency lane and posing risks to the workers. Sanchuk highlighted the workers’ desire to return home safely to their families, urging drivers to respect Ontario’s Move Over law, which mandates slowing down and changing lanes, when safe, upon approaching stationary emergency vehicles and specific roadside work vehicles with flashing lights.
The collision is currently under investigation, leading to the closure of the two left lanes on the eastbound highway by the OPP. Traffic continued to flow slowly through the area using the right lane.