At Least 75 Cars Involved in Weather-Related Highway Pileups North of Toronto

BARRIE, Ont. (CP) – Some 75 cars, trucks, semi-trailers and buses slammed into each other Monday as white-out conditions triggered two massive chain-reaction pileups on a busy central Ontario highway.

There were injuries but no deaths reported by Ontario Provincial Police after they were called out to a chaotic scene on Highway 400 near Barrie, Ont., north of Toronto, during the noon hour.

Blowing snow and high winds were likely a factor in the chain-reaction crash, which involved tractor trailers, vans, motorcoaches and school buses.

OPP Const. Sally Stewart says one person suffered life-threatening injuries in the pileup in the southbound lanes of the 400 at Highway 89.

Stewart says a second person suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the other crash, which occurred not far away in the northbound lanes.

Police had reopened one of three southbound lanes Monday evening, but all northbound lanes and ramps were still closed.

Several others were taken to hospital with minor injuries, but no specifics were available.

Police are urging motorists to stay off area roads as a storm front sweeps northeast across Ontario to Quebec, bringing blowing snow and high winds gusting up to 100 kilometres an hour.

In southwestern Ontario, the extreme weather forced Via rail to cancel some trains and reroute others on Monday night.

A weather-stranded freight train was blocking the track between Kitchener and London, Via said in a release.

And the closure of Highway 401 at Woodstock meant passengers could not be bused through the area.